Links: Box Score
SPARKILL, N.Y. – The Merrimack College women's lacrosse team topped the 20-goal threshold for the second time this young season in a 22-9 victory against St. Thomas Aquinas on Sunday. Five different players had three or more goals in a game that the Warriors led nearly in its entirety.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 22, St. Thomas Aquinas
Records: Merrimack (2-1, 0-0 NE10) | St. Thomas Aquinas (0-1, 0-0 ECC)
Location: Spartan Field | Sparkill, N.Y.
Duration: 2:05
What They Said
"We are very pleased with another team effort that we put together today. We are really working as one unit and I'm excited to see how this will propel us into our conference schedule. This team is continuing to work hard and it is great that they are seeing the benefits of that hard work. We are looking forward to starting conference play this coming week against a good Stonehill team."
-- Head Coach Julie Duffy
Rapid Recap
- After the hosts scored the opening goal of the game at the 27-second mark, Merrimack drew even less than a minute later and promptly opened the floodgates, outscoring STAC by a 16-4 margin over the remainder of the half. The Warriors had five uninterrupted markers in the span of six minuets to take a 5-1 lead, then netted six more in an eight-minute run to go ahead by 10. The Warrior lead never shrank below nine from there on out.
- The Warriors would add six more strikes in the second half while nearly every player on the bench saw action throughout the game.
Top Performances
- Both junior Bridget Schofield (5g, 1a) and sophomore Ally DaCosta (3g, 3a) set career scoring highs with six-point outings. DaCosta had never had more than four points in a game before, while Schofield topped her previous single-game mark of five points.
- They were two of five Merrimack players to record hat tricks on the afternoon, joining junior Amber Feminella, sophomore Olivia Colletti and freshman Haley Bartlett, all of whom had three goals apiece. Junior Emma Bonassar netted another two, while senior captains Annette Ruggiero and Carly McKenna, along with rookie Catherine Mahanna also found the back of the net.
- Schofield also led all field players with four ground balls, while Mahanna grabbed four draw controls.
- Sophomore Tammy Nguyen was credited with four saves in a solid performance in net; she also led the team with five ground balls.
Notes and Notables
- The 22 goals were the most in a single game for Merrimack since a 23-2 win over American International back in the 2009 season.
- Feminella saw her season goal and point totals increase to 14 – tops in the Northeast-10 Conference – while Schofield sits three points back of her on the season at 11, good for second in the NE10 ledger. Bartlett's eight goals rank second on the team and tied for second in the league.
- Merrimack is averaging 18.33 goals per game, the highest scoring average in the conference. The Warriors have recorded double -digit goal totals in each of their first three games this season.
- Merrimack outshot STAC by 15 (37-22), outgained them in draw controls by one (17-16) and ground balls (16-7).
- Merrimack turned the ball over only eight times and converted 6-of-9 free-position shots. The Warriors also went 12-for-14 on clears.
Up Next
Merrimack will break for nine days before opening its conference schedule on the road against Stonehill on Tuesday, March 6, with game time set for 3 p.m.
