GOLDEN FLYERS EDGE SAINTS 12-9 IN SEASON OPENER

Mar. 14: The St. Lawrence University women’s lacrosse team used a late-game surge to score three goals in the final three minutes of their season opener against nationally-ranked Nazareth College Friday afternoon, but it wasn’t enough to take over a deep Golden Flyer squad, as the Saints fell 12-9 to the home team in Rochester, NY.

The Golden Flyers, who are now 1-0, were most recently ranked 18 th in the IWCLA national poll, while the Scarlet and Brown fall to 0-1 in their 2008 season.

Nazareth began the game by scoring within the first fifteen seconds of the contest, sparking a 5-0 run that included scoring on three of their first five shots in just the first five minutes.

Despite being down, the Saints were able to gain momentum after a pair of first-year players put their squad on the board at 17:24. Rookie Kelsey Redpath (Norwich, VT/Hanover), who was assisted by classmate Kaitlyn Fahsel (Watertown, NY/South Jefferson), had the first goal, which marked a turning point for the Scarlet and Brown in the first half as they went on a 4-0 run with goals from sophomores Lexi Wisnowski (Middlebury, VT/Middlebury Union) and Katrina Knickerbocker (Clinton Corners, NY/The Gunnery), as well as first-year Kim Morse (Peaks Island, ME/North Yarmouth Academy). The Golden Flyers closed the half with a goal of their own to end the period with a 6-4 edge.

Nazareth opened up in the second with three consecutive goals, two of which were free position shots, to give them a comfortable 9-4 advantage. The Saints then followed with two goals by senior co-captain Liz Skinner ( Liverpool, NY/ Liverpool) with 19:00 left in the contest and one from Fahsel, who put it between the posts at 17:17.

The Golden Flyers earned two more goals to increase their lead to 11-6 before both teams were scoreless for nearly ten minutes as the clock started to wind down. But just when Nazareth least expected it, the Saints came marching in and scored three unanswered goals within the final minutes of the game from Morse, senior co-captain Alanna Waters (Darien, CT/The Taft School) and sophomore Mary Jane Sweetland (Hopewell, NJ/Stuart Country Day) to cut the Golden Flyer lead down to just two (11-9) with 58 seconds to go.

Nazareth responded with a goal to ensure the victory, giving the home team a 12-9 win.

The Scarlet and Brown’s offense was led by Fahsel, who tallied three points in her first collegiate game, while Morse and Waters each had two points a piece. Nazareth’s Caity Richardson led the entire contest with four points, which included three goals and an assist.

Nazareth outshot the Saints 30-17, while St. Lawrence had a 17-15 edge on groundballs. Rookie Anna Marchand ( Concord, MA/Holderness) had 11 saves for St. Lawrence, while Nazareth’s Maria Fusco had six.

The Saints will travel to West Palm Beach, Florida next week, where they will face non-conference opponents Mount Holyoke, Scranton, and Springfield. St. Lawrence will take on Mount Holyoke first on Monday, March 17 at 5:00pm at Lake Lytal Park, Florida.