PROVIDENCE, RI - Junior Jesse Nunn (Worton, MD) scored her first of four goals 1:25 into the contest and the Bears never looked back, reeling off five straight to open the game as the women's lacrosse team (1-0) opened its 2008 season with a 17-7 victory over Sacred Heart (0-1) on Sunday afternoon at the Berylson Family Fields. Junior Lauren Vitkus (Skaneateles, NY) also scored four goals, while sophomore Meghan Markowski (Northport, NY), senior Jadie DeTolla (Stony Brook, NY), and sophomore Kara Kelly (Garden City, NY) each added two.

The Bears started off with a bang, controlling play during the first 10 minutes and grabbing a 5-0 lead. After Nunn's first goal on a free position shot at 1:25, Vitkus scored her first at 2:21 to give the Bears a two-goal lead. Freshman Alexa Caldwell (Middletown, DE), who finished the game with a goal and a game-high three assists, picked up her first career point with an assist on Nunn's second goal four minutes later. Sophomore Kiki Manners (North Potomac, MD) netted her first of the season 14 seconds later, and then Kelly scored at 8:23 to give Brown a 5-0 lead and force Sacred Heart to use its timeout.

The Pioneers came out of the huddle and Amanda Williams responded to put Sacred Heart on the board and cut into the Bears' lead at 10:37. However, DeTolla, Nunn, and Markowski each scored over the next 5:38 to give Brown an 8-1 lead with 13:45 left in the half.

Sacred Heart outscored Brown, 3-1, to close the frame, including scoring the final two goals of the half, as the Bears' held onto a 9-4 lead at the break.

Despite holding onto a five-goal lead, Brown still came out of the half with urgency and scored four unanswered goals, including two more by Vitkus, and Caldwell's first career goal, increasing its lead to 13-4 at 38:30. Carissa Hauser converted on a free position shot to temporarily halt the Bears' momentum, but Markowski and Kelly each netted their second goals of the game to give Brown a 15-5 lead with 14:43 remaining.

The two teams traded goals for the rest of the half with Nunn and senior Ali Holland (Garden City, NY) each scoring for the Bears for the 17-7 final.

Defensively, Brown was led by Junior Val Sherry (Baltimore, MD) and freshman Tori Conway (Upper Arlington, OH), who each had two caused turnovers. Kelly had four ground balls to lead the Bears, while Vitkus won four draw controls. Senior Melissa King (Pepper Pike, OH) earned the win with three saves in net. The Bears continue action on Thursday, February 28, when they travel to North Carolina to face the fourth-ranked Tar Heels at 5:00 p.m.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (February 24, 2008) – Sacred Heart senior Katie Salamone (Baltimore, MD) and junior Amanda Williams (Monroe, CT) each scored a pair of goals but the Pioneers dropped their 2008 season opener, 17-7, at Brown University Sunday afternoon. The Bears got four goals from junior Jesse Nunn as they stormed out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back.

Brown (1-0) also got four goals from junior Lauren Vitkus while sophomore Meghan Markowski, senior Jadie DeTolla and sophomore Kara Kelly each added two. The Bears started off with a bang, controlling play during the first 10 minutes and grabbing a 5-0 lead and forcing Sacred Heart to use its timeout. The Pioneers came out of the huddle and Williams responded to put SHU on the board and cut into the Bears' lead at 10:37. However, DeTolla, Nunn, and Markowski each scored over the next 5:38 to give Brown an 8-1 lead with 13:45 left in the half.

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2008-02-24