SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College women's lacrosse team cruised against Manhattan College, 20-8, at the Thomas J. Niland Athletic Complex behind a program-record 15 first-half goals. The victory extends the Dolphins' (10-4) winning streak to seven games while the Jaspers' (5-4, 0-2 MAAC) losing skid hits four games.

After falling behind 2-1 in the game's first nine minutes, Le Moyne rattled off a remarkable scoring run with 14 goals in 20 minutes. Eight Dolphins found the back of the net during the streak. Whitney Vecchio, second in the Le Moyne College career scoring category, scored all five of her goals in the first half while Leah Lazarz, Leah Mazella and Mia Valletta added two goals each in the first 30 minutes.

Manhattan used a four-goal scoring streak in early in the second half to trim Le Moyne's lead to nine goals, but the Dolphins tallied five of the game's final seven goals to preserve the victory.

Ten Dolphins contributed goals, including Vecchio (5), Lazarz (2), Mazella (2), Valletta (2), Nerissa Barzee (2), Michelle Lissner (2), Lisa McCarthy (2), Kari DeWick (1), Rebekah Elmer (1) and Jennifer Lewis (1). Vecchio and Lissner dished out six assists and four assists, respectively.

Vecchio's 11-point performance pushes her season points total to 70, the third-best campaign in the school's history. Amanda Keegan and Kylie Rosette tallied 90 points and 83 points, respectively, last season.

For Le Moyne, Samantha Falcone shined between the pipes with seven saves and five ground balls in 30 minutes of action, allowing only two goals in the process. Alex Dwyer collected six saves in second-half work.

The Dolphins' streak of seasons with 10 or more wins reached seven with the victory. Le Moyne honors its eight seniors Sunday when they host Iona at 1:00 p.m.

2008-04-11