CANTON, NY -- The St. Lawrence University women's lacrosse team powered through a 10-3 deficit at the half and outscored nationally-ranked Union College in the second period, but it was not enough to overcome the seven goal difference as the Saints fell to the Dutchwomen 16-11 Friday afternoon on North Country Field in Liberty League action.
Chelsea Charette led the Dutchwomen with five goals and Union got two goals each from
Kristin Joyce,
Casey Dianni,
Jill LaForest and
Allie Cuozzo. Charette also had a team best three assists.
Union, which was most recently ranked 12
th in the IWLCA Coaches Poll, improves to 9-2 overall and is still undefeated in conference play, winning five straight contests this season. St. Lawrence falls to 4-7 and a 1-5 mark in the Liberty League. It was Union's 7th straight win overall.
Midfielder Kim Morse (Peaks Island, ME) had her best game thus far in her sophomore campaign, recording a game-high six goals and one assist for seven points. Amanda Forbes (Glens Falls, NY) and junior Julie Wooters (New Canaan, CT) each put two in the back of the net.
Despite getting on the scoreboard first thanks to Morse, St. Lawrence found themselves playing catch up nearly two minutes later after Union blasted two shots into the back of the net to get an early 2-1 edge with 23:31 to go in the first. Forbes knotted things less than a minute later, but Union continued to score in pairs as
Chelsea Charette scored her first of five goals off a free position shot, following by teammate
Jill LaForest at 17:46 to jump ahead of the home team 4-2.
St. Lawrence scored one more in the half off the stick of Morse but was unable to cash in on any of their free position opportunities in the opening stanza. A major factor in the first half came in the middle of the field, as the Dutchwomen controlled 10 of the 14 draws and used those wins to force the ball down near the Saints net, putting a lot of pressure on the Saints' defensive unit. The visiting squad went on a six goal run down the stretch, led by Charette and three free position goals, to end the half with a decisive 10-3 lead.
Union scored two goals to open the last 30 minutes of play to earn a 12-3 advantage over St. Lawrence, but it never deterred the Saints from solving their offensive issues as Morse led the way with a four-goal half. The Scarlet and Brown slowly chipped away at Union's lead, never giving them a double-digit lead, and slowly erased the draw control gap from the first half as the home squad won 8 of the 15 in the second half, which continued to be the difference in the game. While Union had five more goals in the game, St. Lawrence outscored the nationally-ranked squad 8-6 in the final period.
Cat Ruggiero made six saves for the visiting team, while sophomore goalie Anna Marchand (Concord, MA) kept eight from slipping into the back of the net for St. Lawrence. Union held a 30-19 advantage in shots, including 20-9 in the first half alone, and also held a 23-21 edge in groundballs.
The Dutchwomen play another league game Saturday at Clarkson.
Box Score
