SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse senior Awehiyo Thomas (Six Nations, Ontario) tied her career high with four goals and senior Katie Rowan (Delmar, N.Y.) dished out six assists to lead the No. 8 Syracuse women's lacrosse team to an 11-8 victory against No. 18 Cornell in the Carrier Dome on Wednesday, April 15. With the win in its final home game of the regular season, the Orange improves to 11-3, while Cornell goes to 7-5.

It was senior night in the Carrier Dome as Rowan, Thomas, Bridget Hamm (Penn Yan, N.Y.), Bridget Looney (Silver Spring, Md.) and Megan Mosenson (Malvern, Pa.) were honored in a pregame ceremony. During its four years, these five student-athletes have led the Orange to two BIG EAST regular-season and tournament championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances.

"The senior class has been a great class," said Syracuse head coach Gary Gait. "They are exceptional. They are the heart and soul of this team and we will rely on them heavily for the rest of the stretch. Hopefully we will have a lot more lacrosse for them to step up and enjoy."

Syracuse jumped out to an early lead on goals by sophomore Tee Ladouceur (Slingerlands, N.Y.) and Thomas. After the Big Red tied the score, Rowan sparked the Orange offense, recording assists on three straight Syracuse goals. First she found junior Christina Dove (Bel Air, Md.) before connecting with Thomas and Looney as the Orange took a 5-2 lead with 18:05 left in the half.

Halsey Diakow's goal at the 14:55 mark cut the lead to two, but Syracuse netted the final three goals of the half to take an 8-3 lead at intermission. Dove converted a free position attempt, and Thomas and junior Halley Quillinan (Glenmont, N.Y.) both scored off helpers from Rowan, who assisted on five of Syracuse's first eight goals of the game.

Goals by Looney and Thomas to start the second half gave the Orange its largest lead of the game, 10-3, with 22:58 remaining. Libby Johnson netted her second goal of the contest at the 19:16 mark, sparking Cornell on a 5-0 scoring run that brought the Big Red to within two with 4:35 left in the game. Shannon McHugh's second goal during the run cut the lead to 10-8, but that was as close Cornell would get. Mosenson scored the game's final goal on an assist from junior Linsday Rogers (Rochester, N.Y.) with 2:19 remaining to clinch the victory for the Orange.

Rowan's six assists increases her career total to 145. She now has sole possession of fourth place on the NCAA Division I all-time assists list. She trails Johns Hopkins' Mary Key (2004-07) by five assists for third place on the all-time list.

Thomas led the Orange in goals for the first time this season, recording four goals in a game for the sixth time in her career. Dove finished with three points (2g, 1a), while Looney netted a pair of goals, giving her a career-high 16 this season. Johnson and McHugh led Cornell with two goals each.

Cornell outshot Syacuse, 23-20, while the Orange controlled 13-of-21 draws. Syracuse had a slight 14-13 advantage in ground balls, led by junior Sarah Sedgwick's (Fayetteville, N.Y.) career-high five. Sophomore Liz Hogan (Victor, N.Y.) recorded 10 saves for Syracuse. It marks the 10th time in her career she has reached double figures in saves in a single game. Kristen Reese made five saves for Cornell.

Syracuse plays its final BIG EAST contest of the season on Saturday at Rutgers at 11:00 a.m. The Orange is 5-1 in league play this season, while the Scarlet Knights are 3-3.

2009-04-16