Simmons Lacrosse Falls to Emerson, 19-7

Photo is courtesy of Simmons College

BOSTON, Mass. – Junior midfielder Meredith Weber (West Caldwell, N.J.) tallied six points, including five goals and senior goalie Victoria Kanaris (Haworth, N.J.) made a season-high 15 saves to lead the Emerson College women's lacrosse team over host Simmons College, 19-7, today on Winsor Field in Boston, Mass. The Lions win their third straight to improve to 9-4 on the season, while the Sharks fall to 5-7.

Sophomore midfielder Kasey Fries (Bridgewater, Mass.) and senior middie Alexia Malone Oliver (Bristol, R.I.) each netted a pair of goals and picked up a ground ball to lead the Sharks. First year attacker Missie Maiewski (Northampton, Mass.) netted a goal, came up with a ground ball and caused a turnover, while sophomore midfielder Gabrielle Klane (Franklin, Mass.) also netted a goal to go with two ground balls, a pair of draw controls and a caused turnover. Classmate Kiera Kirkaldi (Middlebury, Vt.) found the back of the net as well for Simmons. First year goalie Kenzie Rogers (Bourne, Mass.) made three saves on the day.

Simmons outshot Emerson, 29-26, but senior goalie Victoria Kanaris' (Haworth, N.J.) season-high 15
stops made the difference in the match for the Lions. Junior midfielder Meredith Weber (West Caldwell, N.J.) tallied six points, including five goals, won four draw controls and came up with three ground balls for the visitors, while Kanaris posted a 68.2% save mark. First year attacker Emily Quinn (Dartmouth, Mass.) racked up six points with two goals and four assists in addition to three ground balls, while senior attacker Guerin Morissette (Georgetown, Maine) netted three goals and assisted on another to go with a ground ball. Sophomore attacker Tara Windsor (Palm City, Fla.) also scored three times for Emerson.

Weber ripped a shot into the back of the twine just 47 seconds into the match to give the Lions a 1-0 lead in the first half. Fries knotted the score at 1-1 for the Sharks with a goal of her own at the 26:33 mark. Emerson scored five unanswered goals over the next eight-plus minutes, including two from Morissette, to take a 6-1 lead with 18:12 remaining in the period. Malone Oliver broke up the string for Simmons with a marker at 15:41, but the Lions scored five of the next six goals to take an 11-3 lead with 4:23 remaining in the half. Quinn scored a pair of goals over the 10-minute stretch for Emerson. Klane scored her first collegiate goal during the stretch for the Sharks.

Oliver and Fries netted the final two goals of the half for Simmons, including Fries' tally with just five ticks left on the first half clock to pull the Sharks to within 11-5 at halftime.

The Lions' defense held Simmons scoreless through the opening 16:16 of the second stanza, while scoring five consecutive goals to take a 16-5 advantage with 15:39 to play in the match. Weber paced Emerson with two goals during the opening scoring spree. Maiewski scored for the Sharks at the 13:44 mark to cut the margin to 16-6. Emerson tallied the next three goals with a score each from Morissette, Windsor and senior midfielder Tayllar Righini (Salem, N.H.) to take its largest lead of the afternoon at 19-6. Kirkaldy netted the final goal of the match with a Simmons marker coming with nine seconds left in the game.

The Sharks will be in action again on Wednesday, April 20 when they head to Newton, Mass. to take on Great Northeast Athletic Conference foe Lasell College at 4:00 p.m., while the Lions travel to Wellesley, Mass. on the same day for a 5:00 p.m. match with Wellesley College.