ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Eighth-ranked Union scored six unanswered goals in the second half Tuesday to rally past host Nazareth in women's lacrosse, 8-3, in a non-conference game. The Dutchwomen improved to 11-2 overall, while the Golden Flyers slipped to 10-4.

Trailing 3-2 at halftime, Union scored twice in a 21-second span in the first two minutes of the second half to secure the lead for good. Sophomore Allie Cuozzo (Norfolk, Mass.) scored her first of two second-half goals to tie the score with 28:30 left. Cuozzo's older sister Caitlin then scored off an assist from Keri Messa (Saratoga Springs, NY) with 28:09 left to give the Dutchwomen a 4-3 advantage.

The score went unchanged for more than 13 minutes until Union scored again as freshman Kristin Joyce (Longmeadow, Mass.) converted a pass from Messa to make the score 5-3. Goals by Allie Cuozzo, Messa and Steph Egizi (Westwood, Mass.) followed as Union gradually pulled away. Freshman Cat Ruggiero (Huntington, NY) played all 30 minutes of the second half and stopped all seven shots she faced.

The upset-minded Golden Flyers got a pair of first-half goals from sophomore Nora Davis (Bishop Ludden/Syracuse, NY) and a free-position goal from freshman Alyssa Mulheron (Canandaigua, NY) to take a 3-2 advantage. Joyce and Chelsea Charette (South Hadley, Mass.) had goals for Union.

Sophomore Melissa McDonald (Lynnfield, Mass.) played the first half in goal for Union and made two saves. Junior Maria Fusco (IHC/Chaumont, NY) made six saves for the Golden Flyers.

Nazareth is home again this weekend as the top seed for the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. The Golden Flyers host fourth-seeded Ithaca Saturday at 12 p.m. St. John Fisher and Stevens square off in the second game. The championship game is Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

Score by Period       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Union...............  2  6 -  8
Nazareth............  3  0 -  3
 
Attendance: 200
 
Union SCORING:
GOALS: Kristin Joyce 2; Allie Cuozzo 2; Keri Messa 1; Caitlin Cuozzo 1;
       Chelsea Charette 1; Steph Egizi 1.
ASSISTS: Keri Messa 2; Caitlin Cuozzo 1; Kristin Joyce 1; Liz Zamore 1.
 
Nazareth SCORING:
GOALS: Nora Davis 2; Alyssa Mulheron 1.
ASSISTS: None.
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Union...............  8 12 - 20
Nazareth............ 10  9 - 19
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Union...............  7  4 - 11
Nazareth............  4  8 - 12
 
DRAW CONTROLS BY PRD  1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Union...............  2  7 -  9
Nazareth............  4  0 -  4
 
FREE-POSITION SHOTS    1     2     Total
----------------------------------------
Union...............  0-3   1-1  -  1-4
Nazareth............  1-5   0-3  -  1-8
 
SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Union...............  2  7 -  9
Nazareth............  4  2 -  6
 
FOULS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Union...............  8 10 - 18
Nazareth............  4  4 -  8
 
TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Union...............  7  8 - 15
Nazareth............  7  6 - 13

2008-04-22