NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y – The Merrimack women's lacrosse team came up short in a thriller against Iona College. The final score at Mazzella Field was 15-14, which was tallied by six different goal-scorers for the Warriors.
The Basics:
Score: Iona 15,
Merrimack 14
Records: Merrimack (0-2, 0-0 NEC), Iona (3-1, 0-0 MAAC)
Word from Coach Fox Sargent:
"We saw a lot of progress and positives come out of the areas that we really wanted to work on since our last game. New game scenarios tested us, and despite the loss, we took a lot of lessons away from this hard fought battle."
How it happened:
1
st Quarter:
- The Warriors got off to a fast start, led by Meghan Dzialo who had a hat trick by halfway through the quarter.
- Taylor Darrell took notice and the second half of that quarter was hers, collecting a hat trick of her own by quarter's end.
- Four of the goals were unassisted, but Natalie Calkins had a hand in the other two that came in the first.
Score at the end of the 1st: 6-2 Merrimack
2
nd Quarter:
- Momentum swung in Iona's favor in this quarter, out-scoring the Warriors in the same way that had been done to them in the first. Out of the gate, the Gaels scored four un-answered.
- Calkins again fed two solid passes to teammates, this time to Lulu Sweeney and Dzialo, who each found the back of the net one minute apart
- The Gaels would add two more before the clock ran out, to tie it up going into halftime.
Score at half: 8-8
3
rd Quarter:
- The pair of Dzialo from Calkins got things going for the Warriors, to give the Warrior back the lead.
- Just seconds later, Georgia Parker drills one in on a pass from Catherine Mahanna, putting the Warriors 10-8.
- After a rare four and a half minutes without a goal from either side, Darrell gets a look from Dzialo for her fourth goal of the day. A minute later, Mahanna grabs her first of the day on a free position.
- Dzialo tossed another one in before time expired, for the Warriors to out-score the Gaels 5-1 in the quarter.
Score at end of the 3rd: 13-9 Merrimack
4
th Quarter:
- The Gaels came out strong on both ends of the field for the final quarter. Iona scored six unanswered, and held off the Warrior offense until the last two minutes of play.
- Sophie Scearbo scored to put the Warriors back within one, but there was just not enough time left on the clock to complete the comeback.
Final Score: 15-14 Gaels
Notes and Numbers:
- Dzialo was once again the leading scorer for the Warriors, collecting six on the day. She has seven through the first two games.
- Darrell was not far behind, adding four to the team's total. She has five goals through two games.
- Calkins is now the team-leader in assists, with her five on the season all coming in today's game.
- Mahanna now has four goals on the season, after posting a hat trick in the home-opener against UNH.
- Sophomore, Georgia Parker earned her first goal of the season.
- Sophie Scearbo had another goal today, giving her a scoring streak. She has two so far this season.
Up Next:
Up next, the Warriors will host Dartmouth on Tuesday, March 8 at 7:00 pm.
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