MIDDLETOWN, R.I. – Simmons Lacrosse fell to the Salve Regina Seahawks, 16-6 in their 2013 season opener Tuesday evening in non-conference action. Freshman Greer Gilbert (Falmouth, Mass.) paced the Sharks with her first career hat trick and two ground balls.
The Seahawks (1-1) opened the first half on fire, scoring five straight goals in the opening ten minutes. Jennifer Jones beat Sharks goalkeeper Crystal Derosier (Kingston, Mass.) twice, while Alyssa Corvi, Kelly Burke and Gina Tortorici each netted unassisted goals. Gilbert broke up the Salve Regina's run when she converted a free position shot past Seahawks goalkeeper Josephine O'Reilly to put the Sharks on the scoreboard.
Less than a minute later, Burke increased the Seahawks' lead to five off a pass from Grace Kelly. The Sharks (0-1) defense regrouped and Derosier stuffed a crease roll by Burke to keep the Sharks in the game. After a failed clear attempt by Salve Regina, Gilbert forced her second free position attempt but was denied by O'Reilly.
With just under ten minutes remaining, Kelly converted her first goal of the game off a free position shot. Both teams had quality chances in the remaining minutes but were unable to convert as the Seahawks entered halftime with an 8-1 lead.
The Sharks took control in the second, scoring three quick goals to cut the Seahawks lead to four. Stephanie Oliveri (Waltham, Mass.), Rachel Wallace (Braintree, Mass.) and Callie Warnock (Kingston, Mass.) each tallied unassisted goals. But Salve Regina responded with seven straight goals to increase their lead, 15-4. Gilbert finished her hat trick with two goals in the last ten minutes but it was not enough as the Seahawks went on to win, 16-6.
Salve Regina held a slight advantage in shots, 33-26 and outpaced the Sharks in draw controls 15-9. Both teams recorded 17 ground balls. O'Reilly posted 11 saves in the win while Derosier recorded nine saves in the loss.
Simmons returns to action on Thursday, Mar. 7 when they host Gordon College at 7:00 p.m. in their home opener.