SYRACUSE, N.Y.- Monmouth University's women's lacrosse team fell to 2-1 on the season after suffering a 14-8 setback to Le Moyne College on Friday afternoon in Syracuse, N.Y.

Le Moyne set the tempo early, scoring four unanswered goals in the first 4:16 of play, including one just 1:49 into the action. Monmouth answered with a trio of consecutive scores , two from the stick of Megan Brennan (King of Prussia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) and one from Megan Nutter (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown). The Dolphins closed out the first half by outscoring Monmouth 3-1, to take a 9-4 lead into halftime. Sophomore Shawn Evans (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) scored the lone MU goal during that stretch, beating Le Moyne goaltender Melissa Falcone after a feed from Ali Pollock (Watervliet, N.Y./Shaker).

The Hawks were unable to get their offense going early on in the second frame in order to get back into the game, with Le Moyne scoring three consecutive goals. Nutter broke the streak at the 14:50 mark but the MU trailed 11-5 at that point. Monmouth freshman Rachel Fierstein (St. James, N.Y./Smithtown East) scored three goals in a six and a half minute span but the Hawks eventually fell 14-8.

Fierstein led the Hawks with three goals, the first multi-goal game of her career. Nutter and Brennan ended with a pair of goals each. Pollock had two assists on the day while senior Jackie Trainer (Upper Holland, Pa./Council Rock South) finished with four ground balls. Defender Erin Marley (Columbia, Md./Seton Keogh) had four ground balls and three caused turnovers.

Monica Johnson (Radnor, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) made seven saves in the loss, Samantha Falcone stopped 12 Monmouth shots while Alex Dwyer let in the last two MU goals in just over five minutes of action. Each team tallied 30 shots in the contest.

The Hawks are back in action on Sunday, March 9, when they face Binghamton at Kessler Field. The match is set to start at 12:00 p.m.

2008-03-07