SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The No. 5 Syracuse women's lacrosse team scored 11 unanswered goals in the first half and went on to defeat #17 Dartmouth, 18-5, in front of 425 fans in the Carrier Dome on Sunday, February 24. The win is Syracuse's second-straight to open the season, while Dartmouth goes to 0-1. Sophomore Christina Dove and junior Awehiyo Thomas scored four goals each to pace the Orange attack, while junior Katie Rowan had five points on two goals and three assists to move into third place on Syracuse's all-time scoring list.

For the second straight game Dove put Syracuse on the scoreboard when she found the back of the net at the 27:37 mark. Rowan scored her first goal of the game on a free position with 26:09 on the clock before assisting on the Orange's next two goals. First she found Thomas streaking in front of the goal. Thomas converted the pass for her first goal of the game. Rowan then found an open Halley Quillinan in front of the goal, who scored her fourth goal of the season at the 21:23 mark. Overall seven different Orange scored in the first half as Syracuse led 11-0 at the half. It marked the first time Syracuse has shut out an opponent for an entire half since the 2006 season when SU accomplished the feat against Binghamton.

Eliza Bennett scored the Big Green's first goal and the first goal of the second half at the 28:32 mark. Syracuse responded with five straight goals to take its largest lead of the day, 16-1 with 20:03 remaining. The Big Green scored four of the game's final six goals as the Orange posted an 18-5 victory.

Dove and Rowan recorded five points each to lead the Orange. With her performance, Rowan moves ahead of Monica Joines into third place on Syracuse's all-time scoring list with 156 points. Quillinan added three goals, while Kristin Brady had two goals and three assists.

For the second straight game, the Syracuse defense was overpowering. The Big Green committed 23 turnovers, and had just 15 shots on goal compared to 51 for the Orange. Freshman goalkeeper Liz Hogan posted her second-straight win as she allowed two goals and made a career-best seven saves.

The Orange will hit the road for the first time this season when it travels to Charlottesville, Va., to take on No. 2/2 Virginia on Saturday at 1 p.m.

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Syracuse, N.Y. - The #17 Dartmouth women's lacrosse team succumbed to #5 Syracuse's balanced offense in a tough season-opening loss today.

The Orange utilized 11 first half goals to build an insurmountable lead before going on to take the 18-5 victory. Senior Kristen Barry (Duxbury, Mass.) was Dartmouth's top scorer with two goals while Christina Dove and Awehiyo Thomas each had four goals to lead Syracuse.

"Syracuse is a good team that we have a lot of respect for and they took it to us today," said Head Coach Amy Patton, who started her 16th season at the helm. "We are breaking in a lot of young players but things like draw controls, turnovers and ground balls really hurt us today - will have to be better at that."

Dove got to work early for Syracuse, scoring three of her team's eight goals in the first 13 minutes to take an 8-0 lead on her goal at 17:37. The Big Green mounted a counterattack, but had three quick shots all saved by Orange goalkeeper Liz Hogan. After Dartmouth held it scoreless for 10 minutes, the Syracuse attack regrouped to pot three more goals in the half. Ultimately, seven players had a point in that period.

Dartmouth struck first in the second half when sophomore Eliza Bennett (Darien, Conn.) got her team on the board with a free-position goal at 28:32. The Big Green's momentum was short-lived, however, as the Orange put in five goals during a six-minute span to take a 16-1 lead with 20 minutes left to play.

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2008-02-24