BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. – Stephanie Hunt scored four free possession shots in the first 12 minutes of the game and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy women's lacrosse team coasted to a 14-1 victory over Newbury College (0-3). The Buccaneers improved to 2-2 in the romp, in which six different players netted goals in the victory.

First-year Anna Deely opened the scoring only 43 seconds into the game on one of five free possession goals. Only 1:28 later, Hunt began her deluge, knocking back the second, third, fourth, and sixth points in the contest. Meghan Petruziello had the fifth marker off a sneaky pass from Hannah Mannai, stationed just behind the goal on the right side.

The half ended with the Buccaneers up 11-0, with sophomore Cammi Balentine beating the keeper twice in a span of a minute-twelve.

In the second half, Head Coach Marc Palombo had the women work on their build-up and the result was a pass-intensive period. Despite only shooting five times in the second, Newberry Venezia Delgadillo whipped a superb shot by senior keeper Mikayla Correia. Correia (2-2) was excellent, saving 6-of-7 attempts on target, including two tricky low balls off free possession shots. It was during those attempts that Correia and defense shined, in particular, holding Newbury to 0-for-5 on foul shots.

"We were only able to practice one day outside this week, but the whole mood of the team was up," explained Palombo. "They had a different energy in the locker room today and they brought it to the field. Our team capitalised on them playing poor defense in the opening minutes."

"We had a lot of girls that have never really played before but were willing to learn and have a huge heart," added Assistant Coach Olivia Coakley. "They gave us everything they could and it showed on the field."

Stephanie Hunt scored seven points on five goals and two assists, running her season totals to 12 and 8, both tops on the team. The four-year starter now has 130 goals and 56 assists in her career. Hunt netted on only seven shots.

"Our leadership from our two captains Steph and Mikayla have helped us out significantly in keeping our team calm and collected," observed Coakley.

Cammi Balentine scored three on five attempts, putting four on target for a Buccaneer side that had 32 shots, 23 on goal. Casey Sullivan had a brace of goals and a helper, taking seven shots and putting four on net. Other point-netters were Anna Deely (two goals, two assists), Meghan Petruzziello (one apiece of goals and assists), and Smith.

Deely and fellow rookie Gina Connor were the talk of the game, as the latter found herself in the middle of numerous plays, while Connor displayed eye-popping speed in driving the ball from the defensive side into attacking position. Deely is now tied with Sullivan for second on team in points with nine.

"Anna is just really scrappy and she hustles and not afraid to get hurt," pointed out Coakley. "Gina has the same mentality and there are in it to get the ball."

The squad will host a number of local teams tomorrow in a tournament at Clean Harbors Stadium before staying home for a game against Bay Path University (0-1). Faceoff is at 1 p.m. and admission is free.

In the meantime, stay tuned to www.mmabucs.com for all the latest.

Gabriel Fidler, Sports Information Associate