PHILADELPHIA, PA - The La Salle Explorer lacrosse team made it two in a row on Wednesday afternoon after defeating the visiting Lafayette Leopards 16-9 at McCarthy Stadium.  With the second win in as many games, La Salle improved to 4-5, while the Leopards drop to 3-5.

The Explorers dominated the game early on, opening the game with six straight goals.  Scoring leader Emily Bonczek started the scoring rally just 43 seconds into the contest, scoring the first of her six goals on a free position shot.  A half of a minute later, Kristen Davis knocked in the first of her five goals of the game on an unassisted goal at 1:15.  Bonczek scored again with the help of Maura Kenville , before netting back-to-back free position goals.  Kat Prokop was up next, scoring an unassisted goal with 13:35 to play in the half, followed by Bonczek's fourth of the game with 12:47 to go before the break.

Lafayette's Madalyn Booth took a free position opportunity at the 20:18 mark to break the Leopards scoring drought and dash any La Salle hopes of a shutout. The Leopards could not get a scoring run started, as Tiffany Grossi halted the run at one with another La Salle free position goal at the 21:00 minute mark.  Davis followed up with her second of the afternoon with 7:34 to go in the half.  Lafayette managed one more goal by Casey Sharkey at the 25:36 mark to close out the first half scoring and give the Explorers a 9-2 advantage going into halftime.

The tide shifted after the break, as Lafayette controlled the second half early on, scoring four unanswered goals between the 22:34 and 21:24 marks of the second half.  La Salle freshman Ann Anderson snapped the run, scoring with 20:27 to play, but Lafayette answered just nine seconds later with a goal by Booth. 

The Explorers rallied, knocking in the next four goals over a four-minute span to increase their lead to 14-6.  This deficit proved too much for the Leopards, as the teams played the last 12:00 minutes evenly matched.  Davis scored the last three goals for La Salle, as the Explorers claimed the 16-9 victory.

Davis also led the team on defense with six ground balls, and freshman Mara Sardella contributed five.  Lafayette's Kat Hueglin led the Leopards with four ground balls and topped all players with six draw controls.

In the cage for the Explorers, Chantelle McCormick competed all 60 minutes, faced 27 shots and gave up nine goals to go along with 15 saves.  At the other end of the field, Jaclyn Kushner faced 30 shots and recorded 12 saves in 60 minutes.

The Explorers begin a three game round trip starting on Saturday, April 1st, when they open the Atlantic 10 season against Saint Joseph's at 12:00 p.m.