April 5, 2007
Final Stats
PHILADELPHIA, PA - In their Atlantic 10 conference season-opener, the La Salle Explorers lacrosse team fell 16-11 to the visiting Saint Bonaventure Bonnies at McCarthy Stadium on Thursday afternoon. The loss drops La Salle's season record to 4-5 and 0-1 in the conference, while the Bonnies improve to 3-4 and 1-0. Senior Tiffany Grossi led all players with five goals in the contest.
The Explorers fell behind early, after St. Bonaventure opened the game with four goals in the first 7:06 of play. Grossi halted the Bonnies run at four when she netted her first of the game at the 10:59 mark. Three-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week Jillian Davis posted her first of the afternoon just over a minute and a half later to cut the Bonnies lead to two at 4-2.
St. Bonaventure's Brenna Houghton scored her second of the afternoon by duplicating her first goal with the help of Kimberly Ross with 16:11 to play in the half. Katelyn Faas converted a free position attemp with 15:01 to play to again extend the Bonnies lead to four. Grossi stopped another Bonnies run with her second of the afternoon at the 18:42 mark.
The Bonnies closed out the half with four unanswered goal including Ross' goal with just five seconds to play, giving the Bonnies a solid lead at 10-3.
After the break, the Bonnies continued their run with three additional goal in the first five minutes of the period. La Salle freshman Stefany McKee ended La Salle's scoring drought with 23:04 remaining off a pass from Davis. Grossi notched her hat trick just 18 second later to bring the score to 13-5. Faas interrupted La Salle's run with a free position goal, but Grossi scored again with 15:57 left to play.
St. Bonaventure's Patty Nessle answered but the Explorers went on the attack with 12:41 to play as Emily Bonczek scored followed by Catie Borneman and another Bonczek goal over a span of three minutes to bring the score to 15-9. Houghton scored notched her final goal with 3:16, which proved to be the Bonnies final goal of the afternoon.
The Explorers fought to the end, as Grossi earned her fifth of the game at the 58:02 mark followed by Davis' second with a minute to go.
The La Salle goalkeepers split the net duties, with Brittany Friedrich logging the first 30 minutes, facing 21 shots and earning five saves. Chantelle McCormick took over in the second half and faced just 10 shots and earned three saves. At the other end of the field, St. Bonaventure's Eboni Preston tallied 12 save while facing 31 shots.
La Salle freshman Marikate Letts posted a game-high five ground balls in the contest. Grossi was strong all-around on the day, grabbing five draw conterols and causing three turnovers including an interception.
The Explorers will be off for a week and will return to action in a rare evening game when they host the George Washington Colonials on April 13th at 7:00 p.m. at McCarthy Stadium.
