SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Junior Sara Hennessey (Winchester, Mass.) scored four goals as the Holy Cross women's lacrosse team defeated Bryant, 8-7, on Wednesday night at the Bryant Turf Complex in the season-opener for both teams. With the win, the Crusaders start the season 1-0, while the Bulldogs begin 0-1.
After Bryant took a 3-0 lead, the Crusaders made it a 3-2 contest with two straight goals. Hennessey scored on a free-position shot and sophomore Laura Ryan (Stirling, N.J.) found the back of the net off a pass from freshman Kaitlin Concilio (Ridgewood, N.J.). The assist was Concilio's first collegiate point. After Katherine Keckeisen increased Bryant's lead to 4-2 with 6:14 remaining in the first half, the Crusaders tied the contest at 4-4 with two consecutive goals by Hennessey as she posted her eighth career hat-trick. Senior Taylor Zebrowski (Verona, N.J.) assisted on the first goal extending her point scoring streak to 24 straight games, while sophomore Kim Corkum (Ipswich, Mass.) tallied an assist on the game-tying goal for her first collegiate point. Lisa Vendel then scored on a free-position shot to give the Bulldogs a 5-4 lead at the half.
The Crusaders netted the first four goals of the second half to move out to an 8-5 lead. Freshman Margie Smith (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) tied the game with her first collegiate goal, while senior captain Kat Sutton (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) gave the Crusaders a 6-5 lead on a free-position shot with 11:55 left. Zebrowski then found the back of the net extending her goal scoring streak to 21 straight games. Hennessey netted her fourth goal of the contest and her eighth career game-winner with 9:03 remaining to increase the lead to 8-5. Concilio posted her second assist of the game on the goal. The Bulldogs added two goals, but were unable to net the equalizer for the 8-7 final.
Junior goalie Sarah Weber (Summit, N.J.) made eight saves to earn the win, while Brianna Watt posted 14 saves for Bryant. The Crusaders outshot the Bulldogs, 30-18, while Holy Cross tallied 21 ground balls and Bryant had 16. The Bulldogs secured nine draw controls and the Crusaders had eight, while Holy Cross went 2-7 on free-position shots and Bryant went 3-8. Senior captain Maddie Carrellas (Middletown, R.I.) led the team with three caused turnovers giving her 39 for her career which are tied for ninth all-time at the school.
The Crusaders return to action on Saturday, Feb. 16, when they host No. 20 Boston College at the Hart Turf Field at 3:00 p.m.
