WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Seven straight goals by the University of Saint Joseph through the halftime break led to a 16-9 non-conference women's lacrosse road loss for Southern Vermont College Thursday afternoon.
SVC was in front 5-4 late in the opening period before the Blue Jays closed out the stanza with three unanswered scores to bring a two-goal advantage into the break. USJ then outscored the Mountaineers by five in the final 30 minutes to finish off the victory.
Southern Vermont (0-4) is back at it on Saturday, heading to Daniel Webster College for a 12:30 p.m. New England Collegiate Conference start.
Mountaineer junior captain Lauren Nesshoever (Chittenden, Vt.) had a season-best three goals on the day, adding a career-high seven draw controls and three ground balls to her line. Freshman Hailee Walker (Cohoes, N.Y.) had another three scores for her third straight multi-goal game, and she also scooped up three ground balls and two draw controls.
SVC sophomore Meagan McSweeney (East Falmouth, Mass.) registered the first two goals of her career to go along with a pair of ground balls, and classmate Natalie Rose Canterbury (New Hartford, Conn.) chipped in with an assist and four ground balls to tie her career-best. Freshman Aubrey Vierstra (Saugerties, N.Y.) also recorded her first collegiate score in the effort.
Sophomore keeper Kelsey Carrera (Queensbury, N.Y.) made 11 saves as she suffered the loss with 44 minutes in net (0-3).
USJ collected 16 draw controls to the Mountaineers' 11 while edging Southern Vermont 26-22 in ground balls. The Blue Jays were perfect on the clear (5-5) as SVC was successful in four of its five clear attempts. Saint Joseph benefited from six free-position goals and saw SVC convert on 2-of-4 of its free-position shots.
Nesshoever notched her first of the game to get the day's scoring started before McSweeney found the back of the net two minutes later for Southern Vermont to go on top 2-0. USJ fought back with a pair of its own to tie it up, only to see Walker get on the scoresheet at the 18:27 mark for the Mountaineers to regain the lead.
The Blue Jays took their first advantage with a pair of strikes through the next nine minutes, but it didn't last long as sophomore Paige Vitale (Greenville, N.Y.) fed Vierstra for the rookie's first career goal and the equalizer. Nesshoever followed with her second of the affair to put her team on top 5-4 with 7:41 to go in the half, but that would be the last SVC score of the period as the hosts tallied three of their own before the horn to go ahead 7-5.
Saint Joseph carried its momentum into the second, sending home four straight goals to start the period on a high note. McSweeney then took a pass from Canterbury and put it past the Blue Jay keeper to cut into the deficit at the 15:19 mark. Walker sent her second of the day into the cage to make it 11-7, only to have USJ rally off three unanswered scores to extend the hosts' lead.
Walker registered her 11th goal of the year before Nesshoever added her sixth of the season, but the Blue Jays got the two back to cap off the victory in the final few minutes.