Mount Ida Downs Lacrosse Tuesday Night

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. - The University of Saint Joseph women's lacrosse team was defeated by the visiting Mount Ida College Mustangs, 14-3, on Arute Field at Central Connecticut State University on Tuesday evening in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match. With the setback, the Blue Jays drop to 1-6 overall and 0-6 in GNAC play while the Mustangs improve to 10-1 overall and remain undefeated in the league at 6-0. USJ will be back in action next at home on Thursday night versus Bay Path on the USJ Lacrosse Field at 4:30 p.m.

THE BASICS

Score: University of Saint Joseph - 3, Mount Ida College - 14
Records: USJ (1-6, 0-6 GNAC), IDA (10-1, 6-0 GNAC)
Location: New Britain, Conn. - Arute Field
Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2018

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Blue Jays struck first with a free position goal from sophomore Charlotte Eberhardt (Thomaston, Conn.) three minutes into the match to take an early 1-0 lead. Eberhardt's goal marked her team-leading seventh of the season.

Mount Ida netted the equalizer four minutes later to level the game, 1-1, on the 43rd goal of the season by junior Brooke Scahill (Gales Ferry, Conn.) off a nice feed from junior Alyssa Kelly (Lee, Mass.). The helper from Kelly marked her 265th career point to make her the all-time leading scorer in Mount Ida women's lacrosse program history. Scahill's goal ignited a 9-0 run by the Mustangs who kept the Blue Jays off the board for the remainder of the half to take a 9-1 lead into the locker rooms.

Kelly fueled the run for the visitors in the first stanza posting a first-half hat-trick to go along with four assists. Scahill also found the back of the net once again over the first 30 minutes to give her a pair of goals, while freshman Jordyn Ringuette (Colchester, Conn.) scored twice including the final goal of the frame and also added a helper.

USJ came out strong to start the second half and once again was the first team to strike. Senior Hannah Lemek (Bristol, Conn.) drew a free position attempt and converted it 1:40 into the period to pull the Blue Jays within 9-2. However, a quick run by the Mustangs would ensue as they rattled off three unanswered goals to build a 12-2 advantage with 21:30 left in regulation.

Neither team would score over the next 15-plus minutes with running time in effect until Lemek recorded her second marker of the game to make it 12-3 in favor of the Mustangs. That would conclude the scoring for USJ and Mount Ida tacked on a pair of insurance goals, including a fourth of the game from Kelly, to account for the 14-3 final margin.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Kelley led all players on the night with 13 points coming on four goals and five assists. She is now the all-time leading scorer in program history with 277 career points.
• Lemek was the lead scorer for the Blue Jays with a pair of goals and put all six of her shots on frame.
• Ringuette finished with a hat-trick to go with an assist to post a 10-point game for the visitors and senior Hayley Napier (Fairhaven, Mass.) chipped in with two goals and an assist.
• Mount Ida held a slight advantage in draw controls, 12-7, led by six from Kelly while Lemek was able to record four to lead the way for the Blue Jays.
• The Mustangs outshot the Blue Jays 37-18, including 27-13 in shots on goal and also held a 23-15 edge in ground balls.
• Senior Emily Bourassa (Bristol, Conn.) was dealt the loss between the pipes for USJ. She finished with 13 saves and falls to 1-6 overall on the season.
• Senior Eleanor Garvey (Elkridge, Md.) made 10 stops for the Mustangs to pick up the win and improve her record to 10-1 on the season.

UP NEXT

The USJ women's lacrosse team will return to the field next on Thursday at home on the USJ Lacrosse Field at 4:30 p.m. against Bay Path. Mount Ida is back in action next on Saturday against GNAC rival Saint Joseph's College of Maine beginning at 12:00 p.m.