MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME WOMEN’S LACROSSE

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Leary Field, Chicopee, Mass.

FINAL:              ELMS 17, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 14

CHICOPEE, Mass. --  Sophomore Jackie Soucia (Belchertown, Mass.) netted five goals, while freshman Vanessa Vurno (Salem, Conn.) added four goals and five assists for nine points to lead Elms to a 17-14 non-league college women’s lacrosse victory over Massachusetts Maritime Thursday evening at Leary Field.

The host Blazers (5-7) overcame an early 5-4 deficit by scoring five of the contest’s next seven goals over a 9:06 stretch to take a 9-6 advantage on senior Jillian Pirog’s (Ludlow, Mass.) tally with 8:37 remaining in the first half, but the visiting Buccaneers (4-5) responded with three unanswered markers, including two off the stick of junior Christina Murphy (Forestdale, Mass.), to forge a 9-9 tie with 1:46 remaining before intermission.  Goals by Pirog and Vurno in the final 38 seconds of the half staked Elms to an 11-9 edge at the break, and the hosts netted four of the first six tallies of the second half to grab a 15-11 advantage with 16:12 to play on a goal by sophomore Haley Roberts (Westfield, Mass.).  Junior Ashley Solari’s (Sandwich, Mass.) marker with 12:26 remaining sliced Massachusetts Maritime’s deficit to three, but Soucia provided two key insurance tallies for the hosts, the second coming with 5:35 remaining, to give the Blazers a five-goal lead (17-12), as the visitors received goals off the sticks of sophomore Stephanie Hunt (Brookfield, Conn.) and freshman Erica Overstreet (Bridgewater, Mass.) in the final three minutes of action to account for the final margin.

Pirog finished with four goals in the win for Elms, which also received two goals each from Roberts and senior Ashley Cava (Wilbraham, Mass.) along with three assists from sophomore Victoria-Lynn Smith (Somers, Conn.).  Solari netted five goals and added three assists to finish with eight points in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, which received a hat trick from Overstreet to go with two goals and a pair of assists from Murphy.  Hunt added a  pair of markers and a helper on the night for the Buccaneers, who also received goals from senior Molly Smith (Westwood, Mass.) and junior Dahlia Seggelin (Sharon, Mass.) as well as a pair of assists off the stick of junior Stephanie O’Connor (Westwood, Mass.).

Sophomore Alissa Porfilio (Agawam, Mass.) picked up the win in goal with a 16-save effort for Elms, while sophomore Mikayla Correia (Dartmouth, Mass.) made eight stops in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, as the Buccaneers outshot the Blazers by a 35-32 margin for the contest.

Massachusetts Maritime hosts Westfield State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference outing on Saturday afternoon at Clean Harbors Stadium beginning at 4:30 p.m., while Elms heads to Leicester, Mass. on Saturday afternoon to square off with Becker in a New England Collegiate Conference clash that begins at 3:30 p.m.