Bentley Holds off Molloy Late for Non-Conference Win

WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley University withstood a second-half rally from Molloy to post a 16-14 victory over the Lions on Friday night in non-conference women's lacrosse play.

In a game that was a tale of two halves, Bentley outscored the visitors 12-6 in the first half, but Molloy outscored them 8-4 in the second.

Bentley led by as much as 14-7 with 20:52 remaining in the contest after a Torre Taylor (Locust Valley, N.Y./Friends Academy) goal. But Molloy went on a 7-2 run to close to within 16-14 with 1:03 to play after sophomore Alexa Toscano scored her third goal of the game.

Molloy won the ensuing draw control to gain possession, but junior Maureen Fields (Pittsfield, Mass./Pittsfield) caused a turnover and came up with the ground ball with 23 seconds left, and Bentley ran out the clock to grab the victory.

Bentley had a big first half behind three goals from sophomore Cori Geiger (Agawam, Mass./Agawam) and two each from junior Megan Wiggins (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough) and freshman Chelsea Larivee (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan). The big run of the half was a 6-1 spurt over the final 14 minutes that turned a 6-5 Bentley lead into a 12-6 advantage at halftime. All six goals were scored by different players during the run.

Geiger finished as the game's high-scorer with six points on three goals and three assists. Molloy's Maria Varricchio and Melanie Sosnowski each had a game-high four goals.

The win levels Bentley's record to 5-5 overall, while Molloy drops to .500 at 4-4.

The Falcons return to Northeast-10 play on Sunday when they visit New Haven for a 1:00 p.m. encounter.

2011-04-09