ONEONTA, NY – The Hartwick women's lacrosse team scored eight of the first nine goals in today's game at Wright Stadium, cruising to a 19-8 victory over Plattsburgh State. The win snaps the Hawks three-game losing streak and pulls them to within a game of .500 at 2-3, while the Cardinals, in their inaugural season, drop to 1-4.
Emma Knapp (Canandaigua, NY/Marcus Whitman) got it started 2:29 in, causing a turnover and then immediately breaking the ice with a goal. Rachel Hedden (Burlington, CT/Central Conn. State) doubled the Hartwick lead just over a minute later, depositing a Jennifer Darasz (Gorham, ME/Gorham) feed into the net at 26:30. Hedden converted again at 24:14, although Plattsburgh's Frankie Porcaro answered back 1:08 later to make the score 3-1.
'Wick responded to the Porcaro tally with a run that essentially put the game away, scoring five straight goals over 9:02 to take an 8-1 advantage. GinaMarie Wilson (East Meadow, NY/East Meadow) retook the team lead in goals from Knapp to start it off, tallying one unassisted at 19:27. Hailey Pooler (Adams Center, NY/South Jefferson) got on the board with her second point of the day next at 17:02, assisted by Amy Tracy (Smithtown, NY/Florida Southern College). Cassie Durkin (Fayetteville, NY/Jamesville Dewitt) scored consecutive goals 2:15 apart, first taking advantage of a free-position shot at 16:32 and then seizing on Hartwick's woman-advantage to score off of a feed from Knapp. Darasz finished the 5-0 stretch with an unassisted goal at 10:25. The Cardinals scored twice in the final ten minutes, but the Hawks one-upped them with two goals by Emily Schaub (Brewster, NY/Brewster) and another by Wilson to take an 11-3 lead at the break.
'Wick put to rest any remaining doubt right out of the gate in the second half, as Wilson, Tracy, and Darasz scored the first three goals of the final 30 minutes for an even more commanding 14-3 lead. Each team scored five goals over the final 22:47 (all of Hartwick's were tallied by previous goal scorers aside from one by Tracy), and the final buzzer sounded to put an end to a chilly 19-8 'Wick win.
Darasz and Pooler led the way for the Hawks, tallying five points apiece. Darasz tied for the game high with three goals (on a game-high-tying seven shots), had two assists, and also tied for the game high with four ground balls. Pooler had a goal on three shots as well as four assists, adding to her program record and giving her a team-high 15 points on the year via six goals and nine assists, a nice start to her season.
Four more 'Wick players had four points each. Knapp, Durkin, and Wilson each had a hat trick and an assist, while Tracy had an even two tallies and two helpers. Knapp did her damage on seven shots (tied with Darasz for the game high), caused a game-high four turnovers, scooped three ground balls, and had two draw controls. Durkin had a perfect conversion rate on her shots, taking just three and contributing elsewhere with two ground balls. Wilson ended up with a team-leading 11 goals, scoring her three on five shots, tying for the team high with four draw controls, causing three turnovers, and getting one ground ball. Tracy had three shots and a ground ball.
Schaub and Hedden were the only other Hawks with points; Schaub had two goals and an assist on two shots, while Hedden had two goals on two shots and a tie for the team-high at four draw controls. Emma Kaplan (Danbury, CT/Danbury) had a solid game off of the scoresheet, tying Darasz and Plattsburgh's Kara Barber for the game-high of four ground balls and also causing a turnover. Ashley Jablonowski (Levittown, NY/Island Trees) and Jennifer Paszko (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) split the game in net. Jablonowski had five saves on eight shots and a ground ball in the first half and Paszko had four saves on nine shots in the second.
It was a bit of a high-flying affair today, as Hartwick registered 32 shots (28 on goal) and Plattsburgh had 23 shots (17 on goal). The Cardinals had a clear 18-10 advantage in draw controls, but the Hawks controlled almost every other category. They had 16 turnovers to the visitors' 27, converted on 14-of-19 clears to Plattsburgh's 7-of-15, and scooped 25 ground balls to the Cardinals' 21.
Porcaro and Reece Wiley led the team up north with three points apiece. Porcaro had a hat trick on five shots, a tie for the game high with six draw controls, and three ground balls. Wiley had two goals on three shots and an assist, five draw controls, and a ground ball. Emily Caoili and Sammy Tanner had two points each, and Katelyn McGlauflin and Claire Wiley each got on the board once. Wiley also tied Porcaro for the game high with six draw controls and had three ground balls.
Hartwick looks to get back to .500 next time out when they open Empire 8 Conference play against Houghton. The game is on Saturday, March 23, and the opening draw is at 1 p.m.
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