Blue Knights Drop Saints 20-10 in Home Opener
by:
Tara FreemanHolly Noyes '13 and the Saints will look to rebound against Skidmore on Friday.
Mar. 31: The St. Lawrence University women's lacrosse team suffered a 20-10 loss to Geneseo State on Saturday afternoon in the team's 2012 home opener at Hall-Leet Stadium. Junior Stephanie O'Rourke led the Saints with four goals, all of which came in the second half.
Geneseo State (4-2) held the edge in shots 32-27 and was backstopped by Julie Bernatzky, who made nine saves to earn the victory. The Saints fall to 3-3 on the year after struggling in the first half with nine committed turnovers and only 4-of-10 on clears.
"Geneseo State played very aggressive on the offensive end and we were unable to match their intensity," said St. Lawrence head coach Jodi Canfield. "We certainly know we need to rebound next weekend as we open the Liberty League schedule."
The Blue Knights were led offensively by the trio of Caroline Buonocore, Katey Hart and Emily Haggerty. Buonocore had a game-high eight points (6g,2a), while Hart had six goals and Haggerty had five goals and an assist.
Despite owning a 10-5 advantage in draw controls in the first half, the Saints found themselves trailing 9-5 at intermission. The early stages of the first half were a back-and-forth affair, with St. Lawrence digging out of three deficits to tie the game at 4-4. Trailing 4-2, co-captain Alanna Piroli and junior Holly Noyes scored on free position shots to get the home team squared with their opponents.
Geneseo would control the final 15:00 minutes of the half, though, outscoring the Saints 5-1 to take a 9-5 cushion into the break. Lea Paris made it 7-5 on a free position shot with 8:41 remaining, while Hart and Buonocore capped the first half scoring.
The Blue Knights continued to pressure the St. Lawrence defense in the second half, which allowed the lead to grow to seven. Meredith Weber and Rachel Petrone opened the second half scoring, while Haggerty and Hart followed with goals only 34 seconds apart to make it 14-7 with 21:40 to play.
O'Rourke's offense kept St. Lawrence lingering in the game, as she twice got her team within six at 15-9 and 16-10. However, the Saints were unable to come up with a clutch draw control or defensive play, as Geneseo ended the game on a 4-0 run to win 20-10.
Junior Joey Kelley had a game-high three caused turnovers for St. Lawrence while adding a pair of ground balls and an assist.
Senior co-captain Paige Powell made four saves in suffering the loss, while first-year Adden Cunningham made two saves in relief of Powell late in the second half.
St. Lawrence will open its 2012 conference schedule next weekend on Friday, April 6 when the Saints take on Skidmore College at 4:00pm in Saratoga Springs, NY.