MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – The Morrisville State College women's lacrosse team picked up a huge North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) win Sunday afternoon as they defeated visiting Medaille College 12-6 on Drake Field in Morrisville.
Morrisville State remains undefeated in conference play with a 3-0 conference record, improving to 5-6 overall. Medaille drops their first conference contest to fall to 2-1, 5-3 overall.
Courtney Cavellier (Rodman, N.Y.) led all scorers with five goals on the afternoon, including the eventual game winner that came with 9:17 remaining in the first half of play.
Gianna Branca (Camillus, N.Y.) added another three, and Chelsea McNeal (Ithaca, N.Y.) two, while Jillian Hughes (Brookfield, N.Y.) and Makenzi Santini (Fairport, N.Y.) rounded out Mustang scoring with one each.
Marissa Woodard (Unadilla, N.Y.) made eight stops in the win between the pipes.
Morrisville State set the tone early in the contest, netting their first two scores in the opening four minutes of the contest, taking advantage of their persistence on the defensive clears. Cavellier posted the first tally with 26:25 to go, before adding her second at the 25:19 mark on the turnover on the clear attempt.
Branca added a third score at the 23:36 mark on a fast break, before Morrisville State added three more to the scoreboard, one on a free position from Hughes, and another on a second fast break off the speed of Santini.
They closed out the half with three more scores, one from Cavellier and two from McNeal to carry the 10-0 lead into the half.
Woodard kept the Mavericks off the board with five saves in the opening half.
Medaille opened the second half with four straight goals, two from Sarah Espe to cut the deficit to six, but Morrisville State's Cavellier collected two straight to move the Mustangs ahead 12-4 with 5:44 to go.
The Mavericks posted two down the stretch, but it wasn't enough as the Mustangs earned the win.
Morrisville State outgained the visitors in shots, 28-22, and in the ground ball game, 30-27, while playing even in draw control wins at 10.
Cavellier collected four draw control wins for the Mustangs, while adding five ground balls and a team high six caused turnovers to her tallies on the day. Lexi Firkins (Brockport, N.Y.) also was a defensive force for Morrisville State, adding five caused turnovers to the team's 19 total, while picking up seven ground balls.
Espe led the Mavericks with three goals while three additional teammates picked up scores on the day, two total that came on free position opportunities.
Deejah Burgess registered the loss despite a 10 save effort.
Morrisville State returns to the field next Saturday, traveling to Wells College for a 3 p.m. NEAC contest.
Morrisville State College's curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.
The college was ranked among the Best Regional Colleges in the North by U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2018 issue and was also recognized in the Top Public Schools, Regional Colleges North in the 2018 Best Colleges rankings. For more information about Morrisville State College, visit www.morrisville.edu.
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