For Immediate Release
March 7, 2009
Wellesley Sports Information
Wellesley Lacrosse Opens 2009 Season With Win Over Plymouth State
WELLESLEY, Mass. – The Wellesley College lacrosse team opened the 2009 season with a commanding 18-6 win over non-conference opponent Plymouth State on Saturday in Wellesley. The Blue were led by sophomore Jenny Holland (Bethesda, MD) who netted four goals on the afternoon.
After over four minutes of scoreless play, Holland got Wellesley on the board with a free position goal at 25:39. On the ensuing draw, Katie Saylor (San Diego, CA) picked up a draw control for the Blue and Kate Cushing (Danvers, MA) converted the possession into a 2-0 lead on a goal at 25:02.
Plymouth State answered back with a free-position goal from Taylor Cambal (West Yarmouth, MA) at the 24-minute mark to narrow the Blue lead to 2-1. Wellesley's Loretta White (Northampton, MA) and Holland then increased the lead to 4-1 on back-to-back goals but once again, the Panthers responded with a goal of their own, this time from Nicole Grover (Yarmouth, ME) with 18:48 to play in the half.
Up 4-2, Wellesley's Molly Morrow (Bow, NH) pushed the lead to 5-2 before Kalie Judd (Peabody, MA) picked up a goal for Plymouth State at 13:36 to again narrow the margin to 5-3. However, Wellesley took control, scoring four unanswered goals to close out the half with a 9-3 advantage.
Wellesley seemed to put the game out of reach early in the second half, scoring four straight to take a 13-3 lead with 25 minutes to play. Plymouth State closed the gap with a pair of goals from Judd and Cambal to make it 13-5 with 19 to play, but Wellesley scored five of the game's final six goals to claim the 18-6 victory.
The Blue held advantages in nearly every statistical category, outshooting the Panthers 44-16 while winning 19 of 26 draw controls. Wellesley led 16-8 in ground balls and recorded 13 turnovers to Plymouth State's 22.
Leading the way for the visitors, Judd and Canbal each scored a pair of goals while Judd also added an assist and three caused turnovers. Grover and Kerry D'Ambroise (Lowell, MA) also scored goals for the Panthers with Grover also recording three ground balls. In goal, Nicole Provencher (Guilford, CT) made 19 saves.
For Wellesley, Holland finished with four goals while Morrow, White and Cushing all netted hat tricks. First-years Meredith Roy (Merrimack, NH) and Kayla Bolton (Beverly Hills, MI) were stellar in their collegiate debuts, each recording two goals and one assist. Rounding out the Wellesley offense, Caitlin Meeker (Columbia, MD) had a goal and an assist while Elizabeth Hays (Roswell, GA) and Morrow also tallied helpers for the Blue.
White controlled the midfield for Wellesley picking up nine draw controls while also causing three turnovers. Defensively, Dee Garrahan (Fairfax Station, VA) was solid for the Blue with a game-high five caused turnovers and three ground balls. Katie Bourque (Penacook, NH) led all players with five ground balls. In goal, sophomore Mary Mattia (Atlanta, GA) made the most of her first college start, picking up nine saves and earning the victory.
The win drops Plymouth State to 0-2 on the season. The Panthers are off until March 16th when they travel to West Palm Beach, Florida to play an exhibition against Division II Merrimack College. Wellesley opens 2009 1-0 and will play at Tufts on March 11th at 4:30pm.