NEWBURGH, N.Y. – The Mount Saint Mary College women's lacrosse team (3-4, 1-0 Skyline) opened the Skyline Conference portion of its schedule with a victory over SUNY College at Old Westbury (1-5, 0-2 Skyline) by a score of 13-9 Saturday afternoon at Kaplan Field.
The Knights took the lead 54 seconds into the game on a goal by junior defender
Claire Duffy (Monroe, N.Y.), and never trailed from that point forward. The next score came at the 21:13 mark, when sophomore midfield
Kayla Goman (Greenwich, N.Y.) doubled the Knight lead.
After a Panther goal by Courtney Gallagher, sophomore attacker
Katie Gattoni (Old Tappan, N.J.) got into the game and made an immediate impact, scoring two minutes later to put the Knights up, 3-1. Gattoni went on to score four total goals in the first half, as the Knights took a 9-4 advantage into the break. Goman finished the half with a hat trick, and junior attacker
Jen Gries (Hicksville, N.Y.), in her first game action of the season, scored her first goal in a big first frame for the Knights.
Sophomore attacker
Fae Kuhnen (Bayside, N.Y.) scored an early second half goal to push the Knight lead to six, but the Panthers found some momentum and scored four straight goals to cut the deficit to just two. With 10:06 to play, Gattoni scored her fifth of the game, followed by scores from Duffy and Gries that put the Knights up by a comfortable five goals with 4:47 to play. Sara Bey got one back for the Panthers with 3:45 remaining, but it turned out to be the final goal of the game.
Gattoni finished up with six points on five goals and an assist. After missing the Knights last game, Gattoni did not lose any momentum, improving her season totals to 26 goals and 30 points through six games. Goman tallied four points on a hat trick and an assist, and is second on the team with 13 goals and 14 points. Duffy turned in a three-point day with two netters and an assist, and Gries scored twice in her first game of the season.
Duffy tied junior midfielder
Nicole Scicutella (Massapequa, N.Y.) and sophomore defender
Courtney Blanton (Huntington, N.Y.) with a team-leading five ground balls. Duffy and sophomore defender Amanda Clements (Baldwin, N.Y.) matched with four draw controls to lead the Knights.
Old Westbury's Gallagher and Halle Johnson each scored three goals to lead the Panthers on Saturday. Bey scored twice and helped another for three points, while Danielle Weir tallied a goal and an assist. Gallagher scooped up a game-high six ground balls and caused six turnovers.
Freshman goalkeeper
Carly Lennon (Bellmore, N.Y.) tallied her second win of the year, needing just five saves for the victory. Old Westbury netminder Ashley Gugliuzzo made 11 stops, but allowed 13 goals to suffer the loss.
The Knights nearly doubled up the Panthers in total shots, holding a 31-17 advantage. They also held a 25-16 edge in ground balls, and a 16-8 lead in draw controls.
The Knights continue Skyline play on Thursday, April 2, when they host Purchase College at Kaplan Field. The opening draw is set for 7 p.m.
Follow the Knights on Twitter at
@MSMCKnights and the women's lacrosse team at
@MSMC_WLax
