Farmingdale State - 11, Stevens - 8
Farmingdale, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State women's lacrosse team started the 2014 season with an 11-8 non-conference victory over Stevens (1-1) today in Farmingdale, N.Y. Junior midfielder Nicole Marzocca (North Babylon, N.Y.) led the Rams (1-0) with four goals, four caused turnovers and three ground balls.
Marzocca opened the scoring with two unassisted goals over the first five minutes to give Farmingdale State the 2-0 lead. Stevens senior attack Kara Rafferty (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and freshman midfielder Jess Leiby (Schnecksville, Pa.) responded with two goals in a one-minute span to tie the game at 2-2.
The Rams used four unanswered goals to take a 6-2 advantage with 10:28 remaining in the first half. Rafferty scored her second goal of the day for the Ducks to make it 6-3, before junior attack Jackie Kennedy (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) tallied two straight to push the Farmingdale lead to 8-3. Stevens closed the half with a goal by freshman midfielder Kathleen Kalbian (Cheshire, Conn.) for a halftime score of 8-4.
In the second half, sophomore attack Erika Wilcox (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) cut the Ducks deficit to 8-6 with two straight scores over the first six minutes. But Junior midfielder Christy Thoden (Bayport, N.Y.) made it 9-6 Rams at the halfway mark, off a pass from Kennedy.
Junior attack Andrea Dragoni (Easton, Pa.) kept her team close with an unassisted score at 13:35 to make it 9-7 Farmingdale, but the Rams would hold onto the lead with goals from junior attack Kelly Geheran (Sayville, N.Y.) and sophomore midfielder Lisa Olen (East Islip, N.Y.) over the final minutes to secure the opening game victory.
For Farmingdale State, Thoden and Kennedy finished with two goals each. Sophomore defender Sara Rivadeneyra (Ridge, N.Y.) caused three turnovers.
Stevens was led by Wilcox with a team-high three goals and seven draw controls, while Rafferty added two goals and three draws. Kalbian picked up six ground balls and caused a team-leading four turnovers.
Rams freshman goalkeeper Krista Spagnoletta (West Islip, N.Y.) recorded 20 saves in her first career game, while senior Sarah Prall (Lansdale, Pa.) had seven saves for Stevens.
Farmingdale State next will host Marywood on Wednesday, March 5th at 3:00 p.m.
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