WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Junior Brigid Brady (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) scored six goals as New Haven withstood a Bentley comeback and held on for a 16-15 win in Division II women's college lacrosse action on Thursday afternoon at Kayo Field. The Chargers, ranked ninth in the nation in the latest IWLCA Division II coaches poll, improved to 14-2, while the Falcons fell to 6-9.

The game appeared to be headed towards a blowout as New Haven took a 12-3 lead at the half and made it 16-6 with 18:29 to go in the second, but Bentley scored the final nine goals of the game and came just short of sending the match to overtime.

Facing a ten-goal deficit, the Falcons reeled off four goals in just over two minutes, two of which came from sophomore Jaclyn Griffin (Barrington, Ill./Barrington HS), to make it a 16-10 game. Another spurt came with about ten minutes to go, when Bentley netted three in a 1:05 span with the tallies from freshman Becca Woods (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury HS), senior Liz Goddard (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough HS) and junior Alyssa Ritchie (North Andover, Mass./North Andover HS) bringing the Falcons within three.

Griffin converted a free position shot with 8:16 to go before freshman Leigh Tedeschi (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury HS) made it a one-goal game with 2:52 on the clock. That was the last shot Bentley was able to muster, though, as the Chargers escaped with the narrow victory.

Junior Brianna Kenworthy (Holden, Mass.) scored a hat trick for New Haven and sophomore Kristine Lambracht (White House Station, N.J.) registered two goals and two assists.

Tedeschi netted a trio of goals for the Falcons and Ritchie added two goals and three assists, while Goddard had a four-point afternoon and sophomore Kim Morris (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs HS) notched a pair of goals and an assist.

The Chargers outshot Bentley, 29-38, but the two sides were even in shots on goal with sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Greenwood (East Falmouth, Mass.) making one more save for New Haven than sophomore Christina Guglielmo (Fair Haven, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven HS) tallied for the Falcons in the opposite crease.

The Falcons are back in action on Friday, when they host Northeast-10 Conference foe American International at 7:00 p.m. to close out the regular season. Bentley's six seniors will be honored before the finale.

Bentley (6-9) 3 12 -- 15
New Haven (14-2) 12 4 -- 16

Goals:
B, Jaclyn Griffin 5, Leigh Tedeschi 3, Alyssa Ritchie 2, Liz Goddard 2, Kim Morris 2, Becca Woods 1.
NH, Brigid Brady 6, Brianna Kenworthy 3, Kristine Lambracht 2, Ashley Ferrandiz 2, Mallory Ferrandiz 1, Heather Miles 1, Sarah LeGoff 1.

Assists:
B, Ritchie 3, Goddard 2, Griffin 1, Morris 1.
NH, Mallory Ferrandiz 2, Lambracht 2, Ashley Ferrandiz 1.

Saves: B, Christina Guglielmo 10; NH, Shannon Greenwood 11
Shots: B 29, NH 38
Shots on Goal: B 26, NH 26
Ground Balls: B 17, NH 14
Draw Controls: B 16, NH 16

2008-04-24