UMBC

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Monmouth University knocked off defending
Northeast Conference champion and league preseason favorite UMBC 7-5 in
women’s collegiate lacrosse action Friday afternoon at Kessler Field.

With the score tied at 5-5 and MU’s leading scorer Stacy Sydlo on the
bench due to a red card, Monmouth freshman Erica Evangelisti scored a
pair of goals to lead the Hawks to victory. With 11:04 remaining in the
game, Evangelisti received a pass from behind the cage from Krislyn
McMahon and rocketed it past UMBC netminder Courtney Stringer to give
the Hawks a 6-5 lead. Evangelisti added an insurance goal with an
unassisted tally with 8:22 showing on the clock.

Evangelisti, who ended the game with three goals, tied the contest at
5-5 with an unassisted goal with 21:23 left in the contest and the two
teams went scoreless for the next 10 minutes.

UMBC (2-7, 1-1 NEC) took the early lead as Lauren Traber scored on an
assist from Stephanie Allen 1:32 into the contest. Monmouth knotted the
contest at 1-1 with 16:18 remaining in the first half as Jennie Versaggi
scored the first of her two goals. The Hawks went ahead just over one
minute later as freshman Jeanette Stott took a perfect feed from Sydlo
and put a laser into the net.

With 7:36 remaining until halftime, UMBC’s Lauren Hess tied the game up
at 2-2 as she scored on an assist from Jen Dragoni.

Versaggi struck once again with 3:11 remaining in the half and the Hawks
went into the intermission with a 3-2 lead.

With just 1:10 expired in the second half, Sydlo scored on a free
position opportunity to push the lead to 4-2 in favor of the Hawks, but
the Retrievers’ Kelly Fiorani found a weakness in the Hawks’ defense and
scored two goals within 23 seconds of each other at 27:43 and 27:20 to
tie the game at 4-4 and Hess gave UMBC the lead five minutes later with
an unassisted goal.

Emily Brugger came up big for the Hawks making 11 saves in goal to earn
the victory. Stringer made 10 saves in goal for the Retrievers.

UMBC has lost just three games vs. Northeast Conference competition with
all three losses coming at the hands of Monmouth. The Retrievers and
Hawks have met in the NEC Championship game all five years with UMBC
winning four and Monmouth winning once in 2001.


AGATE
UMBC 2 3 = 5
Monmouth 3 4 = 7

UMBC SCORING: GOALS: Fiorani 2, Hess 2, Traber 1
ASSISTS: Allen, Dragoni

MU SCORING: GOALS: Evangelisti 3, Versaggi 2, Stott, Sydlo
ASSISTS: Sydlo, McMahon

SHOTS: UMBC 26, MU 30
GROUND BALLS: UMBC 39, MU 46
DRAW CONTROLS: UMBC 8, MU 6
SAVES: UMBC 10, MU 11