BALTIMORE – No. 8 Syracuse scored the game's first seven goals in a span of less than 13 minutes, and while No.16 Loyola pulled to within two early in the second half, the Orange fought off the rally for a 17-10 BIG EAST Conference victory Sunday afternoon.

Chrisina Dove scored all three of her goals in the first 12:23, helping the Orange (9-3 overall, 4-1 BIG EAST) jump out to a 7-0 advantage with 17:37 to go in the first half.

Loyola's offense came to life shortly thereafter, as Mary Heneberry rattled the cage to put the Greyhounds (8-4, 1-3) on the board at 15:55.

Meg Taylor then scored off a Heneberry assist, and Abby Rehfuss and Elizabeth Weber converted on free-position attempts. Weber's goal capped a 4-0 Loyola run, cutting Syracuse's lead to 7-4 with just over 11 minutes left in the first half.

The Orange, however, extended its lead back to seven, as Tee Ladouceur's goal with 31 ticks left on the first half clock made the score 10-4 at the break.

Loyola won three of the second half's first four draw controls and used them to its full advantage. Rehfuss fed Weber from behind the cage and Weber's quick-stick goal 40 seconds into the second frame pulled Loyola within five.

Grace Gavin and Meg Taylor then scored in succession to make it 10-7.

Rehfuss buried a free-position shot low into the cage, pulling Loyola within four, 10-8, with 26:08 to go in the game.

After that, however, it was the Orange's turn to capitalize on draw control success. Syracuse won four draws in a row and scored each time.

Halley Quillinan scored two of her game-high five goals during a seven-plus minute span that saw the Orange go back up by six, 14-8.

Gavin and Rehfuss scored less than two minutes apart, with Rehfuss' tally making it a four-goal differential with 7:44 remaining. Quillinan, however, scored twice, wrapped around a Megan Mosenson goal, to provide the final seven-goal margin for Syracuse.

Rehfuss finished with a team-high three goals, while Gavin, Weber and Meg Taylor each scored twice.

The Greyhounds continue conference action next Saturday, April 11, 2009, when they take on Cincinnati at 12:00 p.m. on the Bearcats' home field.

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BALTIMORE, Md. – Junior Halley Quillinan (Glenmont, N.Y.) had five goals and senior Katie Rowan (Delmar, N.Y.) dished out six assists to lead the No. 8 Syracuse women's lacrosse squad to a 17-10 victory against No. 16 Loyola in Baltimore, Md. on Sunday, April 05, 2009. Rowan now has 137 assists in her career, which ranks fifth on the NCAA Division I all-time leader list.

“We came out very focused after a tough game on Friday night,” said Syracuse head coach Gary Gait. “We had a bit of a lapse that gave them a chance to come back. Our effort is what gave us the early momentum and that's what we focused on the whole game.”

Rowan scored an unassisted goal 31 seconds into the game to give Syracuse (9-3, 4-1) the early lead. Junior Christina Dove (Bel Air, Md.) assisted on a goal by Quillinan and then scored two of her own as the Orange led, 4-0, with 23:29 on the clock. Senior Awehiyo Thomas (Six Nations, Ontario) scored on an assist from Megan Mosenson (Malvern, Pa.), before sophomore Tee Ladouceur (Slingerland, N.Y.) and Dove netted goals as Syracuse took its largest lead of the game, 7-0, with 17:37 remaining in the first half. After Loyola (8-4, 1-3) cut the lead to 7-4, the Orange recorded the final three scores of the half as Rowan, Thomas and Ladouceur found the back of the net to give SU a 10-4 halftime lead.

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2009-04-05