Lacrosse Earns First Win, Tops Dean Thursday, 12-7

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Senior Hannah Lemek (Bristol, Conn.) scored a game-high four goals, including three in the second half, to propel the University of Saint Joseph women's lacrosse team to its first win of the season, 12-7, over Dean College in a non-conference match on the USJ Lacrosse Field on Thursday afternoon. With the win, the Blue Jays improve to 1-2 overall on the year, while Dean falls to 0-5. USJ will be back in action next on Saturday when they host Emmanuel in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) affair beginning at 1:00 p.m.

THE BASICS

Score: University of Saint Joseph - 12, Dean College - 7
Records: USJ (1-2), DC (0-5)
Location: West Hartford, Conn. - USJ Lacrosse Field
Date: Thursday, March 29, 2018

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Blue Jays were the first team to crack the scoreboard and would jump out to an early 2-0 lead after the first goal of the season and 50th of the career from Lemek at the 23:46 mark. Sophomore midfielder Charlotte Eberhardt (Thomaston, Conn.) would follow with a goal less than one minute later of a feed from Lemek to make it 2-0 as USJ would never trail en route to a 12-7 victory.

Dean got on the board with 21:24 remaining on the first half clock after the ninth goal of the season from freshman Lauryn Wilks (Hartford, Conn.) to make it 2-1 before USJ answered with two more goals to build a 4-1 advantage. Eberhardt notched her second goal of the game followed by the first goal of the season from sophomore Mary Joerg (Canton, Conn.)

The Blue Jays and Bulldogs traded a pair of goals each over the remainder of the first half to make it 6-3 at the halftime intermission. USJ received goals from junior Annmarie Masayda (Watertown, Conn.) and senior Tessa Tuttle (Farmington, Conn.).

Dean opened the second half strong controlling most of the possession and scored two straight goals to trim the deficit to 6-5 less than two minutes into the half. Junior Makayla Fisher (Irvington, N.J.) and senior Sydnie Gomes (New Bedford, Mass.) found the back of the net for the Bulldogs before senior Danielle Bazzano (South Windsor, Conn.) halted the run with a goal for USJ of a nice feed from Eberhardt from behind the net.

Fisher posted her second goal of the half just over two minutes later to bring Dean within one once again until Eberhardt linked up with Lemek at the 20:37 mark to make it 8-6 USJ.

The Bulldogs would once again pull within a goal of the Blue Jays following a man-down goal off a free position shot from freshman Genesis Johnson (Norwalk, Conn.), but that would close the scoring for the visitors as USJ tightened things up and used a 4-0 run to close the game for the 12-7 final.

Lemek stepped up and powered the Blue Jays to pull away from the Bulldogs. She made it 9-7 with 12:39 left in regulation to record her first hat-trick of the season and then pushed the lead to 10-7 one minute later to really take control of the match. Masayda found the back of the twine twice in the final two minutes for a couple of insurance goals and to account for the 12-7 final. It gave her a hat-trick on the afternoon, which marks the first of her career.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Lemek led the offensive charge for USJ with four goals and one assist for a nine-point game. Seven of her eight shots were on frame and she also finished with a pair of draw controls.
• Masayda posted three goals and an assist in the win while adding a game-high five groundballs and a game-high four caused turnovers.
• Eberhardt filled up the stat sheet with two goals, two assists, five draw controls, four groundballs and three caused turnovers.
• Fisher and Wilks both recorded two goals with an assist to lead Dean. Wilks finished with a game-high six draw controls.
• Senior Emily Bourassa (Bristol, Conn.) picked up her first win of the season between the pipes for USJ to move to 1-2. She finished with seven saves.
• Junior Jamaya Cleveland (Greensboro, Ga.) posted nine saves for Dean in the loss.
• The Blue Jays outshot Dean 27-19 in the game, including 21-14 in shots on goal.

UP NEXT

The USJ lacrosse team will be back in action next on Saturday when they host Emmanuel in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) affair on the USJ Lacrosse Field beginning at 1:00 p.m.