Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/17/21
From Press Release
A dozen first-half goals set the tone of the day as the Saint Joseph’s women’s lacrosse team cruised past Delaware, 19-6, at Sweeney Field on Wednesday.
In the win, Julia Pash broke the program record for caused turnovers in a career, while Stephanie Kelly netted four goals to give her an even hundred for her Hawk career.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Saint Joseph’s (3-3) jumped out to an early lead and never let it go. Pash and Sam McGee (Abington) staked the Hawks to a 2-0 lead within the game’s first two minutes, and after a Blue Hens goal from Elizabeth Hsu, McGee and Kelly tallied again to put the Hawks on top, 4-1, after 10 minutes.
• Mae Dickens scored for the visitors to make it a 4-2 game with 16:29 to go in the half, but the Hawks ripped off the final eight goals of the period. McGee scored her first of two in the run to restore the three-goal lead nine seconds after Dickens scored, while Kelly, Emma O’Neill, and Riley Evans tallied goals as well. Lauren Figura (Lenape) grabbed three of her own over the final 13:32 of the half as well.
• Delaware (1-4) got its offense going early in the second half, tallying twice in the opening two minutes, but the Hawks found their footing as Kelly, Bridget Cerciello (Southern Lehigh), and Alyssa Manley (Bishop Shanahan) scored in succession to make it a 15-4 game.
• Danika Swech (Owen J. Roberts) stopped the bleeding for UD with a free position goal, but Kelly added her fourth on the day two minutes later before Kellie Ann Matey cut the deficit to 10 for the Blue Hens.
• Kaela Smith took over the final three and a half minutes, tallying a natural hat trick to close things out.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Pash caused a pair of turnovers, breaking a tie with Caroline Hagan for the most in program history. Hagan’s mark of 83 was set in 2016.
• Kelly finished the day with four goals and five assists for nine points. Her last goal of the game gave her an even hundred for her career, moving her past Francesca Donato and into ninth on the Hawks’ all-time list.
• McGee added four goals and three assists of her own for a career-best seven-point day. Figura’s hat trick was her second in as many games, as she scored three times on Saturday at Temple.
• The Hawks were dominant in all facets, outshooting Delaware 26-16 and grabbing 19 of 25 draws. Cerciello led the way with seven draws, while Pash added five to go with three ground balls.
• Melissa Semkiw earned the win between the pipes, making three saves, while Amber Weedon made three of her own in more than 11 shutout minutes of relief.
