BOSTON, Mass. – Senior midfielder Alexia Malone Oliver (Bristol, R.I.) netted a pair of goals to lead the Simmons College women's lacrosse team in a 20-5 loss to visiting Johnson & Wales University today in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest on Winsor Field in Boston, Mass. The Sharks fall to 4-4 overall and 1-1 in league play, while the Wildcats improve to 4-5 and 1-1.
Johnson & Wales outshot Simmons, 36-14, and the defense forced the home team into 25 turnovers, while holding the Sharks to a 9-19 success rate on clears.
Malone Oliver led the Sharks with a pair of goals off the bench in addition to two draw controls, a ground ball and a caused turnover. First year midfielder Elena Bragg (Belmont, Mass.) chipped in with a goal, an assist, two ground balls and a pair of draw controls. Senior middie Ashley Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.) and sophomore attacker Jolene Potter (Readfield, Maine) each scored a goal as well for Simmons. First year goalie Kenzie Rogers (Bourne, Mass.) made eight saves for the Sharks.
Junior attacker Kayla Smith (Eastham, Mass.) netted a career-high five goals to lead the Wildcats and added a ground ball to her day, while junior midfielder Lydia Knapp (Glens Falls, N.Y.) tallied five points on two goals and three assists in addition to six draw controls, two ground balls and a caused turnover. Senior attacker Marissa Hart (Cohoes, N.Y.) also racked up five points, including a career-high four assists and added a ground ball and a draw control. First year middie Kathy Ensor (Saint Louis, Mo.) and classmate Allison Pazienski (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) each scored a pair of goals as two of 11 different scorers on the day for Johnson & Wales. Sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Tonn (Wantagh, N.Y.) also contributed with a game-high five ground balls and four caused turnovers to go with a goal. Senior goalie Cristal Benton (Albany, N.Y.) stopped three of five shots that she faced in 40:31 of action to earn the victory.
The Wildcats' offense wasted no time putting goals on the board, scoring three unanswered goals in the first three minutes of the game as part of an 8-1 run to begin the match. Sophomore attacker Raquel Pederzani (Coventry, R.I.), Ensor and Pazienski each scored a pair of goals during the run. Pederzani's second marker of the game gave the visitors an 8-1 lead with 20:23 left in the opening half. Sheehan scored Simmons' first goal of the day at the 22:13 mark, before Bragg scored her 16th goal of the year with 17:32 to go in the first half to cut the deficit to 8-2 for the Sharks.
Johnson & Wales closed out the half with six straight goals, including three straight from Smith and the first collegiate marker from first year attacker Hannah Litif (Standish, Maine), to take a 14-2 advantage at halftime.
Four different players netted four goals to open the second stanza for the Wildcats, including Knapp's team-high 25th of the season, to give them an 18-2 cushion with 12:24 remaining in the contest. Potter notched her first goal of the year for Simmons with 10:20 showing on the second half clock to make it 18-3 as the Sharks scored three of the final five goals of the match. Malone Oliver netted the final two goals for Simmons, including the final score of the day with 30 ticks left on the game clock.
The Sharks return to action on Tuesday, April 5 when they head to Newton, Mass. to take on GNAC foe Mount Ida College at 5:30 p.m., while Johnson & Wales travels to New Haven, Conn. on the same day to play Albertus Magnus College at 6:00 p.m.
