WALTHAM, Mass. – Sophomore Liza Gross (Loudonville, N.Y.) and freshman Hannah Anderson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) each tallied five points as Stonehill used nine second-half goals to erase an early deficit and pull away for a 14-8 win over Bentley in Northeast-10 Conference women's lacrosse action on Wednesday night in a rematch of last season's conference championship game. The Skyhawks, ranked sixth in Division II in the latest coaches' poll, improved to 6-1 this season with their third straight win and remained undefeated at 4-0 in conference play. The Falcons fell to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the NE-10.

It was Bentley that came out with a first-half lead, pulling ahead 4-2 midway through the opening frame when the Falcons got three straight goals from sophomore Jaclyn Griffin (Barrington, Ill./Barrington HS) and seniors Beth Gendron (Tyngsboro/Tyngsboro HS) and Liz Goddard (Acton/Acton-Boxborough HS). Senior Christa LaRocco (West Islip, N.Y.) struck for Stonehill to bring the game back within one, but then junior Kim Morris (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs HS) and freshman Leigh Tedeschi (Duxbury/Duxbury HS) scored a pair for the Falcons to make it a 6-3 game with 7:45 left in the first half. Gross got the Skyhawks back in the game with two goals down the stretch, leaving Bentley with a 6-5 edge at the break.

With an eight-year conference winning streak on the line, Stonehill came out strong in the second half and was dominant the rest of the way, outshooting the Falcons by a 22-4 margin after halftime. Senior Kristin Darrell (West Islip, N.Y.) tied the game on an eight-meter shot two-and-a-half minutes in and junior Mary Maloney (Great River, N.Y.) put the Skyhawks in the lead for good less than a minute later as part of a string of six unanswered Stonehill goals that straddled halftime, capped by the eventual game-winner from Anderson.

Only Tedeschi managed to break through for Bentley in the second, scoring two of her team-high three goals after the intermission. Griffin notched two goals and two assists for a four-point evening. Gross paced the Skyhawks with four goals, while Anderson chipped in three.

Senior goalie Amanda McGeachey (Saco, Maine) needed to make only two saves for the Skyhawks as her teammates in purple held a 27-10 advantage in shots on goal. Sophomore Christina Guglielmo (Fair Haven, N.J./Rumson-Fair Haven HS) stopped 13 shots in defeat between the pipes for the Falcons.

The Falcons are back in action on Saturday, visiting NE-10 foe Assumption at 1:30 p.m. in Worcester before returning home for a non-conference tilt with fourth-ranked Adelphi on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

2008-04-03