PHILADELPHIA- The La Salle Explorers got the spring season off to a strong start when the team topped Manhattan College in a 13-7 contest on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at McCarthy Stadium.

Manhattan jumped out early with two back-to-back goals at seven and nine minutes into play to give the Jaspers a 2-0 lead.

A goal from Allee Ilgenfritz at 17:09 off of a free position shot in the first half helped La Salle begin their recovery from the two goal deficit.

La Salle tied up the game with another goal from Toni Massetti midway through the second half to get the momentum going.

When Manhattan answered with a third goal two minutes later, La Salle's Massetti was quick to send her second goal of the night into the Jasper's net twenty seconds later.

With the scored knotted up again at 3-3, freshman Mikki Raymond sent the ball past Manhattan's goalkeeper at 10:43 to play to score her first goal in a La Salle jersey.

The Explorers maintained a lead for the rest of the game, thanks to three goals from Brittany Edwards and one from Nicole Black. Courtney Woolford and Rachel Ceplo each also scored a goal apiece for the Blue and Gold.

Massetti added two more goals for the Explorers overall effort to post four total, while Raymond added another in her freshman debut with an assist from Anna Gordon.

After sustaining a season-ending injury last spring, Massetti proved stellar in her return to the field, adding one assist to her four goals and picking up a team-high four groundballs.

Courtney Shoults also grabbed three of her own groundballs in the battle for possession control.

Danielle Strang, Ilgenfritz and Massetti all caused two turnovers apiece, while the team as a whole tallied 10 caused turnovers in La Salle's defensive effort.
Ceplo posted a game-high four draw controls, while Edwards and Raymond each added two of their own.

In goal, freshman Lynne Frankel made her first appearance for La Salle, tallying 10 saves over Manhattan's six.

The Explorers will return to the field to keep the momentum going on Saturday, Feb. 25 at McCarthy Stadium with draw slated at 12:00 PM.