Augustine and Kleet Combine for Seven Goals as Women's Lacrosse Defeats Dominican, 13-11
Box Score HILLBURN, N.Y. (Mar. 18, 2015)- Junior Nicole Augustine (Kingston, N.Y. / Kingston) and freshman Nicole Kleet (Huntington Station, N.Y. / Walt Whitman) combined for seven goals as the Mercy College women's lacrosse team defeated the Chargers of Dominican College, 13-11, at the Torne Valley Sports Complex this afternoon.
Freshman Grace Davidson (West Islip, N.Y. / West Islip) added two goals as the Mavericks improve to 3-2 overall, while Gina Sparaco netted four goals as the Chargers fell to 1-5 overall.
Davidson and Augustine bookended two Sparaco goals to even the game up at 2-2 with 22:27 remaining. Sophomore Sara Hennessey (East Syracuse, N.Y. / East Syracuse Minoa) scored a man-up goal to put the Mavericks in front, but Allison Smithwick answered with a man-up goal of her own to tie the game at 3-3 with 14:59 remaining.
Mercy attempted to pull away as they scored five unanswered goals to take an 8-3 lead with 02:39 remaining. Smithwick netted her second goal of the afternoon with 36 seconds remaining, as Mercy held an 8-4 lead at the break.
In the second half, senior Keri Watson (Massapequa Park, N.Y. / Massapequa) netted the first goal of the second stanza to give the Mavericks a 9-4 advantage. The Chargers rallied as they netted four unanswered goals in a span of four minutes to come within one goal at 9-8. Mercy attempted to pull away again as Kleet netted two goals during a four goal run, giving the Mavericks a 13-8 lead with 08:11 to play. Dominican would storm back late, cutting the Mercy lead to 13-11, but freshman Cara Moran (Tomkins Cove, N.Y. / North Rockland) made critical stops down the stretch to seal the win.
The final numbers are almost even across the board. The Mavericks and the Chargers were even on shots (33-33) and draw controls (13-13). Mercy won the groundballs (26-25), turnovers (18-21) and saves (16-14).
Moran and sophomore Jillian Rocco (Dix Hills, N.Y. / Half Hollow Hills East) both made eight saves in 60 minutes of work between the pipes. Rocco earned the victory and improved to 3-2.
Sophomore Alexa Haines (Lindenhurst, N.Y. / Lindenhurst) had a team-high four groundballs, while Davidson had three groundballs and three draw controls. Watson finished with two goals, one assist and two groundballs, while freshman Hope Coticchio (West Babylon, N.Y. / West Babylon) finished with two groundballs and two draw controls.
Head Coach Dawn Anselmin and the Mavericks will return to action on Saturday, Mar. 21st, as they will host the Knights of Queens College in the 2015 home opener at 11:00 a.m.
