Women's Lacrosse Battles UVa-Wise and Saint Leo Down in Florida This Week

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Links:  Live Stats (Saint Leo) | Video

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's lacrosse team begins a two-game trip down to Florida with a neutral site contest against UVa-Wise on Monday at 1 p.m. in Clearwater, Fla., followed by a non-conference matchup against the Saint Leo University Lions on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The Basics
 Dates/Times: 3/9-11 | 1 p.m. & 7 p.m.
Records: Merrimack (1-0) | UVa-Wise (0-2) | Saint Leo (2-2)
Location (UVa-Wise): David Martin Field | Clearwater, Fla.
Location (Saint Leo): University Turf Stadium | Saint Leo, Fla.

Last Time Out:
 The Warriors began the season with an 18-11 victory over the University of Findlay last Tuesday night. The victory snapped a nine-game losing streak for the program dating back to last season.

The first half was closely contested, with the squad's entering halftime tied at 8-8. The Navy and Gold led 5-3 midway through the first 30 minutes, but the Oilers went on a 5-1 run to pull ahead 8-6 with 3:26 left in the half. The Warriors scored two unanswered to end the half, and took that momentum into the second stanza.

Merrimack scored eight of the first nine goals of the second frame, including a run of six unanswered goals. Including the final two goals of the first half, the Warriors went on a 10-1 run spanning 23:33 of game time.

Redshirt freshman Hunter McCarthy (Avon, Conn.) paced the team with seven points (4g, 3a) in her first career game after sitting out last season. Sophomore Meghan Wiseman (Arlington, Mass.) and freshman Valerie Dayton (Belmont, Mass.) joined McCarthy with hat tricks for the Warriors. Wiseman scored the game-winning goal, while all of Dayton's points came in the second half. Rookie goalkeeper Alexa Petzold (Ridgewood, N.J.) recorded her first career win, notching four saves and a team-leading five ground balls.

For the full recap, highlights including, click HERE!

The Cavaliers:

  • UVa-Wise is in its first season as a Division II lacrosse program and has lost its first two contests. The Cavaliers lost their inaugural game against Young Harris College and are coming off another loss to the Florida Institute of Technology
  • Rachel Cole leads the team with four points on three goals and one assist. Annie Hanson has scored twice in two games, while Hannah Marshall paces the squad with 12 draw controls
  • Mel Reilly has played every minute between the pipes for the Cavaliers, totaling 17 saves in two games

The Lions:

  • Saint Leo enters the contest with the Warriors with a 2-2 record, with both of its losses coming by a one-goal margin in double overtime. The Lions will battle No. 20 Bloomsburg on Monday before their matchup with Merrimack on Wednesday
  • Christina Minneci leads the team in goals (10) and points (13). As a team, the Lions average a tick over 10 goals per game, while allowing 38 goals over four contests
  • Brittany Millsap has started every game in net for Saint Leo. She has an 8.37 goals against average and a .458 save percentage

Up Next
 The Warriors will return home on Saturday afternoon to begin Northeast-10 Conference play at 3 p.m. against Pace Univeristy. The Setters are in their inaugural season as a program, and the game will be part of a lacrosse doubleheader from Martone-Mejail Field, with the men's teams preceding the women at noon.

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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.

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