DAVENPORT, Fla. – First year attacker Samantha Hogan (Westborough, Mass.) netted seven goals to match the Simmons University women's lacrosse record for markers in a game by a rookie to lead the Sharks to a 17-6 victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology this morning at Northeast Regional Park in Davenport, Fla. Simmons improves to 4-1 on the season, while the Leopards fall to 0-4.
The Sharks controlled possession for most of the match, owning a 35-19 shot advantage, including 16-7 in the second half, while the defense held Wentworth to just 14-27 on clear attempts and forced the opposition into 27 turnovers.
Hogan tied the school goal standard for Simmons newcomers, which was just tied five days ago by teammate Lauren Whitman (Mansfield, Mass.), who mirrored the rookie goal total of junior teammate Molly Reinhold (Mystic, Conn.) from March 31, 2018. Reinhold finished today's match with a game-high eight points on five goals and three assists to go with four ground balls, four draw controls and a caused turnover, while Whitman scored three goals on four shots and added a ground ball, a draw control and a caused turnover.
Sophomore attacker Sarah Galan (Colchester, Conn.) paced the Leopards offense with a pair of goals, three ground balls, a draw control and a caused turnover, while first year midfielder Sherly Feliz (Salem, Mass.) found the back of the net with a goal and added two ground balls and a caused turnover. Junior defender Allie Lauersen (York, Maine) contributed with a game-high five ground balls to go with a draw control and a pair of caused turnovers.
Galan scored the first goal of the match just one minute into the contest on a feed from first year midfielder Helen Hamblett (East Boothbay, Maine) to give Wentworth a 1-0 lead. The Sharks answered with a goal from Hogan and Reinhold to take a 2-1 edge with 22:52 left in the opening half. Galan found the back of the net again at the 20:33 mark to pull the Leopards even at 2-2. Whitman and Hogan followed with a goal each for Simmons to give it a 4-2 margin, before sophomore attacker Bella MacMahon (North Yarmouth, Maine) pulled Wentworth to within a goal with 17:10 showing on the first half clock.
The Sharks put together a run of five unanswered goals in a span of less than nine minutes, including three scores from Hogan and single markers from Reinhold and sophomore midfielder Lilly Devitt (Belmont, Mass.) to give them a 9-3 lead with 5:50 to play in the half. Feliz broke up the string for the Leopards with a free position goal with 18 ticks left before the intermission.
Simmons wasted no time in padding its lead in the second stanza with five straight goals in less than three minutes to take a 14-4 advantage with 24:45 remaining in the match. Reinhold scored a pair of goals, while sophomore attacker Ailia Rochefort (Dover, N.H.) contributed to the scoring stretch with her second tally of the year.
Senior attacker Julie Dam (Milford, Mass.) scored Wentworth's fifth goal of the day with 22:23 to go in the match, before Reinhold (14), Hogan (nine) and Whitman (17) cemented their place as the Sharks top three season-scorers with a goal apiece to cap the Simmons scoring effort and give it a 17-5 lead with 10:13 left in the match. Sophomore attacker Jorgie Pashalian (Cranston, R.I.) netted the game's final marker for the Leopards with 7:04 to play on a free position shot to cut the deficit to 17-6.
Sophomore goalie Nicole Elliott (Wayne, N.J.) earned the victory for Simmons, stopping five of nine shots in the first 35:15 of play, before yielding to sophomore Erin McIntyre (Cumberland, R.I.), who turned away one of three shots she faced in the final 24:45 of action. Junior keeper Lily Kuhns (Gloucester, Mass.) registered nine saves for Wentworth.
The Sharks return to action on Saturday, March 14 when they take on Great Northeast Athletic Conference rival Emmanuel College (Mass.) at 1:00 p.m. in a match to be played at Daly Field in Brighton, Mass., while the Leopards head to Buzzards Bay, Mass. on March 17 to take on Massachusetts Maritime Academy at 7:00 p.m.