POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.- After their first two home games were postponed or moved, the Marist women's lacrosse team took advantage of the chance to play at the newly renovated Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field with a 24-20 win over St. Bonaventure. The 24 goals scored by the Red Foxes (1-1) broke the previous Marist record for goals scored in a game. They had scored 22 twice previously. First-year head coach Tanya Kotowicz got her first win.

Lindsey Diener (Nanuet, N.Y.) and Stephanie Garland (Long Valley, N.J.) each had four goals. Liz Falco (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) scored three and had four assists, and Ali Carnabuci (Albertson, N.Y.) found the back of the net three times for the Red Foxes.

"It was a nice win," Kotowicz said. "It was a total team effort with eight different players scoring."

The Red Foxes came out sluggish and struggling on defense. Less than five minutes into the game they were in a 7-3 hole. However, they picked up play on both sides of the field and were able to chip away at the Bonnies lead. By halftime, the St. Bonaventure lead was down to one, at 11-10.

"You could see the team starting to play harder and with more and more heart. As the game went on you could tell they were having fun," Kotowicz added.

In the second half, Carnabuci scored two quick goals (29:30, 28:40) to give the Red Foxes a lead they would never give up.

St. Bonaventure was able to tie the score at 15 and then 16, but the Red Foxes rattled off four goals in a row to extend the lead. Garland netted the first two during the 4-0 run.

Marist won the battle of draw controls (25-18) and ground balls (15-11). Falco led Marist with seven draw controls and Diener had five ground balls.

Both teams took 39 shots on the day. Marist goalkeeper Liz Burkhard (Wantagh, N.Y.) got the win in goal (1-1), making 14 saves. She picked up her play in the second half, making ten saves.

Kaitlyn O'Sullivan (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), Kate Noftsker (Needham, Mass.), and Lindsay Rinefierd (Smithtown, N.Y.) all had two goals. Cristin Begley (Brookville, Md.) also had a good day for Marist. The junior had two goals, an assist, and three draw controls.

Brenna Houghton led the Bonnies with two goals and eight assists. Kimberly Ross and Stephanie Jordan had four goals each.

Even with the hard-fought win over a tough opponent the head coach saw some room for improvements.

"Giving up 20 goals means our defense definitely needs some work. I think we need to stop worrying about what's going to be called and stay aggressive."

Marist will return to action on Sunday at Sacred Heart (Fairfield, Conn.). The game is set for 1:00 p.m.

2008-03-05