Women's Lacrosse Downs Queens 19-5 in Season Opener
OAKDALE, NY – The Merrimack women's lacrosse team opened its 2011 season with a 19-5 victory over Queens College in a non-conference game played at Dowling University Friday afternoon.
The Warriors took control from the onset scoring the game's first six goals, as Mary Pasquantonio (Plainville, MA) netted the first two in the first 3:06 of the game. Merrimack led 5-0 after the first 6:13 as Colleen Strachan (Bedford, MA) added two more, one on a free position attempt, while Liz Greeley (Norwood, MA) set up Maria DeStefano (Eliot, ME) for a goal at 5:19.
The Knights responded with three goals to cut Merrimack's lead in half, but Alicia Tinsley (Shrewsbury, MA) answered back with three goals in a 2:39 span, propelling the visitors to a 9-3 halftime lead.
Queens opened the second half with back-to-back goals, cutting the deficit to four at 9-5, but Merrimack stormed back and put the game away, scoring the next ten goals, including three from Strachan and two from Tinsley.
"After a slow first half, we came out on fire in the second half," said head coach Corinne Baker. "I was impressed with our draw control performance, and we came together on both ends of the field in the final 30 minutes. Our trio of juniors were very impressive, and our defense picked it up in the second half."
Tinsley finished with five goals and six points, while Pasquantonio had a game-high five goals and seven points. Strachan added five goals to go with four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Merrimack outshot Queens 45-23 in the game, including 22-9 in the second half. The Warriors also won 20 of 25 draw controls and stopped 22 of Queens' 36 clearing attempts.
In her first collegiate game, Inna Hedden (Woodbine, MD) stopped seven shots for her first career victory.
Merrimack (1-0) will host #8 Stonehill in the home and conference opener Thursday at 4 p.m. in a big early season matchup at Warrior Field.
