Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/14/18
La Salle freshman midfielder Bridget Ruskey (Middle Township-NJ) took the ball coast-to-coast and tallied the game-winner to give the Explorers a 15-14 overtime win over visiting Duquesne on a beautiful Friday night at McCarthy Stadium.
Ruskey’s goal came just over four minutes into the six-minute overtime period. It was made possible after Brittany Edwards (Great Valley) caused a turnover in midfield near the Explorers’ defensive zone. Ruskey picked up the ball and housed it for her third score of the game.
The contest was hard-fought by both teams. Although the Explorers (5-8, 1-4 A-10) found themselves trailing 2-0 and 4-1 early in the first half, they never seemed rattled. Edwards scored early and often with a team-high five goals, including three in the first half.
The Dukes (3-9, 0-4 A-10) carried a 7-6 lead into halftime but in the second half, La Salle looked like the dominant team. The Explorers scored the first four goals in the second half by four different players. Duquesne continued to make the game interesting, never completely going away. The Dukes scored with 47 seconds left in regulation.
Annina Iacobucci (Villa Maria Academy) had two goals. Emily Johnston (Ridley), Rachel Ceplo (Delran-NJ), Hope Smith (Radnor) and Brittany Stevens each scored once. Abbey Meehan caused three turnovers and secured four draws.
In net, Molly Loughlin recorded the win and looked great with five saves including one in the overtime period.
Saint Joseph’s 20, St. Bonaventure 6
The Hawks put up 14 first-half goals en route to a dominant win over St. Bonaventure on Sweeney Field. With their second consecutive win, the Hawks improve to 7-6 overall (3-2 A-10) while the Bonnies fall to 0-13 overall (0-5 A-10).
Friday’s game marks the third consecutive meeting in which Saint Joseph’s has scored 20 or more goals against St. Bonaventure.
Junior attacker Francesca Donato (Neshaminy) registered a game-high five points on three goals and two assists while rookie attacker Sam McGee (Abington) added a hat trick.
Saint Joseph’s remains home to host Duquesne (3-8, 1-3 A-10) this Sunday, April 15 at 1:00 p.m. on Sweeney Field.
Delaware 12, Hofstra 8
The Blue Hens returned to the win column and garnered their first Colonial Athletic Association triumph of the season by topping Hofstra
Tied at 5-5 early in the second half, UD tallied seven of the game’s final 10 goals en route to victory.
Sydney Rausa (Hatboro-Horsham) picked up her sixth hat trick of the year and added an assist to finish the day with four points. The sophomore also collected two ground balls, one draw control and one caused turnover as Delaware improves to 6-8 overall and 1-2 in CAA action.
Senior captain Becky Gohsler registered a hat trick of three goals to go along with four draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Denver 14, Villanova 8
Villanova’s second half comeback came up short, falling to Denver on the road. Jillian Swikart led the Wildcats with 3 goals, while Olivia Gonsalves made a career-high 14 saves. Villanova is now 6-7 overall and 1-5 in the BIG EAST. Denver advances to 4-2 in the conference and 9-4 overall.
