Julie Darnulc Stars Again for Women's Lacrosse in Tight ECC Contest With No. 14 Dowling
Box Score BROOKHAVEN, N.Y. (Mar. 28, 2012) – Junior midfielder Julie Darnulc (Baldwin, N.Y.) starred again as the Mercy College women's lacrosse team competed with No. 14 Dowling College right down to the wire in the team's East Coast Conference opener on Wednesday evening but the Mavericks ultimately fell, 10-9.
Dowling improves to 3-3 overall and 1-0 in the ECC, while Mercy drops to 0-5 (0-1).
The Mavericks had three man-up chances as Dowling accumulated six penalty minutes and got one goal out of the opportunities.
Dowling opened up a 2-0 lead that Mercy cut in half minutes later and the teams traded a pair of goals to give the Golden Lions an 8-3 edge late in the first half, but the Mavericks netted two goals in the final minute to get back within three at 8-5 heading into the break.
Mercy carried the momentum into the second half with sophomore attacker Jamie McPartland (North Massapequa, N.Y.) getting the tying score with 19:25 left to play and looked ready to take control, but Dowling had an answer as sophomore midfielder Samantha Stavish (Albertson, N.Y.) put away two of her three total goals within a minute to give Dowling the 10-8 edge once again.
The next 14 minutes were scoreless as Dowling stood its ground and Mercy fought to get within one, and finally freshman midfielder Michelle Tiernan (Farmingdale, N.Y.) found the back of the net with 3:10 to go to give Mercy the chance, but unfortunately for the Mavericks they could not muster another game-tying strike and fell by one.
Darnulc's three goals and one assist led the team, as did her three caused turnovers, while McPartland and junior midfielder Kelsey Sullivan (Mastic, N.Y.) each netted a brace and added an assist. Sophomore defender Callie Schwichtenburg (El Cajon, Calif.) led the squad with four ground balls and Tiernan had a team-high three draw controls. Junior goalkeeper Stephanie DiLegge (Bay Shore, N.Y.) made nine saves.
Senior attacker Brooke Witkowski (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) paced the Golden Lions with four goals and an assist, while Stavish added an assist and team-high four draw controls to her three-goal tally. Junior midfielder Brittany Hohwald (Patchogue, N.Y.) picked up a team-high five ground balls and sophomore midfielder Ashley Kupres (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) caused a team-best five turnovers. Junior goalkeeper Tina Fey (Kings Park, N.Y.) made 10 saves in net.
Head Coach Francesca DeLorenzo and the Mavericks will host Chestnut Hill College (1-5) in their home opener on Saturday, March 31 at 3:00 p.m. The game will be played at Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y.
