HEMPSTEAD, New York * Sophomore attack Ashley Jones scored three goals and senior goalie Maisie Osteen made one of her seven saves with six seconds remaining to preserve a one-goal advantage as the Hofstra Women's Lacrosse team defeated Brown, 7-6, at James M. Shuart Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Jones' final goal, an unassisted tally with 12:25 to play, would turn out to be the game-winner.

The victory ended a three-game losing skid for Hofstra, which improved to 3-3 this season. Brown, meanwhile falls to 2-4 with the loss.

Lauren Vitkus, who tallied a team-high three goals for the Bears, would open the scoring in the contest at the 23:10 mark with an unassisted tally. With Brown leading 2-1 following a goal from Molly McCarthy, Hofstra would take its first lead of the contest as they scored the game's next three goals and led 4-2 after a free position goal from sophomore midfielder Sandy Wasserbach with 6:14 remaining before halftime.

Brown would look to take the momentum into the intermission as they notched the final two goals of the first half, including Vitkus' third of the game with just six seconds remaining before the break as the knotted the score at four at halftime.

Jones would break the tie at the 24:25 mark before sophomore midfielder K'Leigh Vanaman gave the Pride the lead back and scored off an assist from junior midfielder Lauren Whitcomb 7:34 into the second half. Kara Kelly would bring the Bears back to within one and Krystina DeLuca would even the score at the 15:42 mark, setting up Jones' heroics.

Osteen made four saves in the first half and three in the second stanza on the way to her third win of the season. Melissa King took the loss for Brown, as she made six of her seven saves in the opening half.

Senior attack Kelly McGrath added a goal and an assist for the Pride, while five players had a point for Hofstra. Vanaman led Hofstra with three draw controls and five ground balls. Junior defender Alysse Ruszkowski and freshman defender Katie Hertsch both notched three caused turnovers, with Ruszkowski adding four ground balls and Hertsch chipping in with two.

Noelle DiGiola posted team-highs of four ground balls and three caused turnovers for the Bears. McCarthy and DeLuca tied for team-high honors with two draw controls apiece.

Hofstra won despite being outshot, 22-14, as the won nine of the 15 draw controls contested in the game. Hofstra also managed to score on two of its three free position attempts, while stopping Brown's one free position shot.

Hofstra returns to action on Wednesday when they host Rutgers at 7:00 p.m.

* * * *

HEMPSTEAD, NY - Hofstra (3-3) broke a 6-6 tie, with what would prove to be the game-winning goal, with 12:25 left to play to earn a 7-6 victory over the Brown women's lacrosse team (2-4) on Saturday afternoon on Long Island.

Brown was led by junior Lauren Vitkus' (Skaneateles, NY) three goals, all of which came during the first half.

The two teams opened the game in a battle for possession, as they remained deadlocked at 1-1 through the first 19 minutes of the contest.

The Bears grabbed a 1-0 lead on Vitkus' first of three goals at 6:50.

Despite it taking nearly seven minutes for a team to score, the next goal came just 1:30 later, when Ashley Jones tied the score with 21:31 remaining in the first half.

This is how the score would remain for over 10 minutes, as neither team could hold onto possession and both goalies saved the shots that reached them, with senior Melissa King (Pepper Pike, OH) stopping three Hofstra shots and Maisie Osteen making one save on the Bears.

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2008-03-15