PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Senior midfielder Elena Bragg (Belmont, Mass.) tallied six points, including three goals to lead the Simmons University women's lacrosse team in a 19-11 loss to host Johnson & Wales University this evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action at Scotts Miracle-Gro Field in Providence, R.I. The Sharks fall to 2-1 overall, including 1-1 in league play, while the Wildcats improve to 3-2 and 1-0.
Johnson & Wales outshot Simmons, 35-20, and the JWU defense held the Sharks to a 7-13 success rate on clears.
Bragg added a game-high seven draw controls for Simmons, while sophomore midfielder Molly Reinhold (Mystic, Conn.) netted three goals, won two draws and picked up a ground ball. Junior middie Kingsley Richards (Lexington, Mass.) found the back of the net twice. Sophomore goalie Cat Cross (Beverly, Mass.) made five saves for the Sharks.
Sophomore attacker Dani Lydecker (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) led all scorers with eight points on five goals and three assists for the Wildcats and added seven draw controls and a ground ball. Junior midfielder Maria Patane (Greenwich, N.Y.) scored four goals in addition to a pair of assists and a ground ball, while senior midfielder Allison Pazienski (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) also scored four goals to go with a pair of draw controls and a ground ball. Sophomore midfielder Marley Medina (South Hadley, Mass.) scored twice and Deja Hursey led the Johnson & Wales defense with five ground balls and three caused turnovers. Senior goalie Ashley Stavalo (Manchester, N.J.) earned the victory with seven saves for JWU.
It took just 14 seconds for Simmons to get on the board when Reinhold scored off the opening draw at the 29:46 mark of the opening half, but Johnson & Wales ripped off 13 straight goals over the next 20 minutes to take control of the match. Lydecker scored four times to fuel the run for the Wildcats, while Patane and Pazienski each netted three goals during the stretch that gave the home team a 13-1 advantage with 9:33 left to play in the first half.
The teams traded a pair of goals each, including markers from first year midfielder Lilly Devitt (Belmont, Mass.) and Bragg. Pazienski scored with 70 seconds remaining in the half to give Johnson & Wales a 15-3 lead that it took into the intermission.
The Sharks controlled the first 10 minutes of the second stanza, while netting five unanswered goals, including a pair of scores from Bragg and single goals from Richards, Reinhold and senior attacker Mallory Cottam (Hope, R.I.) to pull them to within 15-8 with 20:32 showing on the second half clock.
It was as close as Simmons would get the rest of the way as the Wildcats scored four of the next six goals, including a score from junior midfielder Madeline Bishara (Saunderstown, R.I.) at the 3:22 mark to give Johnson & Wales a 19-10 cushion. Richards tallied the final goal of the game for Simmons with 1:44 to go to make it 19-11. The visitors outscored JWU, 8-4, in the second half of play.
The Sharks return to action on Friday, March 15 when they host Framingham State University for a 5:00 p.m. start on Daly Field in Brighton, Mass., while the Wildcats host GNAC foe Rivier University on March 16 at 3:00 p.m.