BOSTON, Mass. – Junior midfielder Kingsley Richards (Lexington, Mass.) tallied a career-high eight points on five goals and three assists to lead the Simmons University women's lacrosse team over visiting Southern Vermont College, 19-0, today at Daly Field in Brighton, Mass. in the season opener for both teams. The Sharks improve to 1-0 on the season, while the Mountaineers fall to 0-1.
The victory marks the first career coaching win for Simmons Head Coach Molly Devilbiss.
Richards' total of eight points ranks as the fifth-highest total in a game in school history for the Sharks, while the team's total of 29 points is the seventh-highest count in school annals. The shutout also marked the first time Simmons had held an opponent without a goal since it blanked Anna Maria College, 22-0, on March 15, 2014 in Boston.
The Sharks dominated both sides of the ball, overwhelming its guests by a 34-2 shot advantage and controlled the draw by a count of 15-6. The Simmons defense held Albertus Magnus to just six clears in 18 attempts for the day.
Richards added four ground balls and caused a pair of turnovers for Simmons as well, while sophomore midfielder Molly Reinhold (Mystic, Conn.) netted four goals to go with two assists, six draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers. First year attacker Maegan Neelon (Scarborough, Maine) scored two goals for the first collegiate tallies of her career and added a helper in addition to three ground balls and a caused turnover. Senior midfielder Elena Bragg (Belmont, Mass.) netted two goals as well and added four draw controls. Senior attacker Missie Maiewski (Northampton, Mass.) matched Richards with a game-high three assists and added a goal and a draw control.
Sophomore goalie Cat Cross (Beverly, Mass.) went untested in the first half of play to earn the victory, before yielding to first year keeper Erin McIntyre (Cumberland, R.I.), who made her collegiate debut with a save in 30 minutes of the second stanza.
Alex Safford midfielder (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) led Southern Vermont with four ground balls, two draw controls and a pair of caused turnovers, while junior defender Juliena D'Alessio (Berlin, N.Y.) picked up a pair of ground balls, recorded two caused turnovers and won a draw control. Senior goalie Sydnee Julian (Mexico, N.Y.) stopped 11 shots for the Mountaineers.
Simmons scored the four goals in the first 3:29 of play, including a pair of goals from Richards and one each from Bragg and Reinhold. The Sharks went on another scoring flurry, netting five goals in just over three minutes to take a 9-0 advantage. Reinhold found the back of the net twice during the stretch, while Richards scored once. First year attacker Ailia Rochefort (Dover, N.H.) and Neelon netted their first respective collegiate goals within 31 seconds of each other during the rush of scores for Simmons. The Sharks scored four more times before the intermission, including Neelon's second marker coming with 40 ticks left on the first half clock.
Simmons tacked on six more goals in the second half, including the first collegiate goals from first year midfielder Lilly Devitt (Belmont, Mass.) and senior defender Sarah Gagnon (Weymouth, Mass.).
The Sharks return to action tomorrow when they travel to New Haven, Conn. to take on Great Northeast Athletic Conference foe Albertus Magnus College at 11:00 a.m., while Southern Vermont travels to Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. to take on Bard College tomorrow at 3:00 p.m.