Box Score

NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College women's lacrosse team (5-4, 3-1 Skyline) honored its four seniors, Nicole Palmieri (Elwood, N.Y.), Molly Bauer (Levittown, N.Y.), Tara McDermott (Tewksbury, N.J.) and Erica Massmann (West Babylon, N.Y.) in a special Senior Day ceremony prior to Saturday's matchup against the Skyline Conference's top-ranked team Farmingdale State College (12-1, 4-0 Skyline), in which the Rams came out on top, 17-11.
 
The first quarter of the game went back and forth, with the Knights trailing, 5-4, at the 12:25 mark after back-to-back goals by sophomore midfielder Katie McGinnis (Shelton, Conn.) and freshman attacker Katie Gattoni (Old Tappan, N.J.). The Rams then went on their second four-goal run of the first half to take a 9-4 lead with just over a minute to play before the break. Gattoni netted her third of the game with nine seconds on the clock to cut the deficit to four at the intermission.
 
Kristen Ranaldo added a goal for the Rams just 13 seconds into the second half, but McDermott and sophomore attacker Jen Gries (Hicksville, N.Y.) tallied the next two goals to cut the visitors' lead to just three. The Rams got another two back before Palmieri picked up her 11th goal of the season with 21 minutes to play. Farmingdale went on its third four-goal stretch once again in the second half to go up, 16-8, with just under 15 minutes to play. McDermott, Massmann and Gries each scored their second goals of the game in the final quarter of Saturday's contest, but the Knights were unable to rally back.
 
The Knights' and sophomore goalkeeper Deirdre Ray's (Belle Harbor, N.Y.) five-game winning streak came to a halt on Saturday, as Ray made 12 saves, but suffered the loss. Krista Spagnoletta grabbed the win for Farmingdale State, making four saves in the process.
 
Kimberly Pepe led the Rams with four goals on the afternoon, adding an assist for a five-point day. Nicole Marzocca, the Skyline's leading scorer, tallied six points on three goals and three assists before leaving the game right before halftime due to injury. Christy Thoden led the Rams with eight ground balls and five caused turnovers.
 
Gattoni improved her team lead to 28 goals with three more in Saturday's loss. McDermott, Gries and Massmann each tallied a pair, while Palmieri and McGinnis each scored and assisted a goal. Sophomore defender Claire Duffy (Monroe, N.Y.) scooped up a team-high seven ground balls, caused four turnovers and matched Palmieri with three draw controls.
 
The Knights look to get back on track on Tuesday, April 8, when they take on Bard College in non-conference action. The game is set to begin at Bard at 7 p.m.
 
Follow the Knights on Twitter at @MSMCKnights