BOSTON, Mass. – The Simmons College women's lacrosse team was unable to solve the visiting King's College (Pa.) defense in the second half of a 20-9 loss this afternoon at Daly Field in Brighton, Mass. The Sharks fall to 0-3, while the Kings even their record at 2-2.
King's owned a commanding 33-17 shot advantage for the match.
Junior attacker Kasey Fries (Bridgewater, Mass.) and sophomore attacker Missie Maiewski (Northampton, Mass.) each registered four-point afternoons with three goals and an assist each for Simmons. Fries came up with two ground balls, caused a turnover and won a draw control as well. Sophomore midfielder Ana Giarrusso (Hingham, Mass.) also totaled four points with two goals and a pair of assists to go with three draw controls and a ground ball, while first year defender Kristen Mihalich (East Rockaway, N.Y.) recorded a team-high four ground balls and a caused turnover. Sophomore starting goalie Kenzie Rogers (Bourne, Mass.) stopped four of 13 shots in the opening 20:03 of play, before yielding to junior Chyenne Yeager (Indiana, Pa.), who turned away four of 15 shots on net.
Senior attacker Gabriella Morrocu (Glen Cove, N.Y.) tallied seven points, including six goals to lead the Kings and also picked up a pair of ground balls, won four draw controls and caused a turnover, while junior attacker Anastasia Araviakis (Baltimore, Md.) netted four goals, caused two turnovers and picked up a game-high five ground balls. Sophomore midfielder Katy Higinbothom (Bel Air, Md.) and sophomore middie Amanda Carroll (Warren, N.J.) each registered six points, including three goals for Higinbothom and two for Carroll. Junior goalie Victoria Zawacki (Old Forge, Pa.) stopped six shots to record the victory.
The teams split the game's first four goals with Giarrusso scoring with 24:38 left in the opening half to pull the Sharks even at 2-2. King's put some space between it and the host squad with six straight goals over the next 10 minutes, including two from Higinbothom, to take an 8-2 advantage with 13:45 to go in the period. Maiewski and Fries answered with back-to-back scores to cut the margin to 8-4, but the Kings matched with two of its own on one each from Araviakis and first year midfielder Tabitha Truelson (Rochester, N.Y.). The teams repeated the trend of trading two goals apiece, before Fries scored with 35 seconds left in the half to pull Simmons to within 12-7 at the intermission.
The Kings' defense took over in the second stanza, holding the Sharks without a goal for the opening 23-plus minutes of the second half, while the offense scored five unanswered goals to give the visitors a 17-7 cushion. Morrocu set the tone with the first three goals of the new period to give King's a 15-7 lead. Junior midfielders Megan O'Brien (Media, Pa.) and Sarah Almony (Monkton, Md.) each scored a free position goal for two of the Kings' eight unfettered scores on the day as part of a 17-goal total.
Maiewski took a feed from Fries and found the back of the net for Simmons, despite being a player down, to put it on the board in the second half with 6:19 remaining in the contest. Morrocu tallied her final goal of the day with 4:34 showing in the period, before Maiewski scored the Sharks' last goal of the afternoon, 69 seconds later, to make it 18-9 with 3:25 left. King's scored the final two goals of the match on free position opportunities to go home with a 20-9 victory.
Simmons will return to action on Saturday, March 11 when it takes on Rhode Island College for an 8:30 a.m. match at the National Training Center in Clermont, Fla., while the Kings host Mount Saint Mary College (N.Y.) at 4:00 p.m. on the same day.
