Bay Path Lacrosse Claims First Victory of 2018

BAY PATH CLAIMS FIRST VICTORY OF 2018 SEASON

LONGMEADOW, Mass. – The Bay Path University women's lacrosse squad rallied from an early deficit to pick up their first victory of the 2018 campaign against visiting Newbury College at Ryan Field Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action. The Wildcats posted a 16-11 victory over the Nighthawks to improve to 1-5 overall and 1-1 in the NECC, while Newbury dips to 1-2 in conference and 1-8 on the season.

After nearly 10 minutes of scoreless play opened the contest, the Nighthawks cracked the scoreboard with tallies from freshmen Venezia Delgadillo (Sharon, Mass.) and Sophia Kiasi (Yorba Linda, Calif.) to take a 2-0 lead at the 17:48 mark. The Wildcats got on the board less than a minute later as senior Kaylee Herring (Worcester, Vt.) converted off a feed from freshman Samantha Rubacha (Feeding Hills, Mass.) to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The Nighthawks created separation with three straight goals in less than two minutes with Kiasi, Delgadillo, and freshman Hannah Gorman (Lyman, Maine) found the back of the net to build a 5-1 advantage with 15:18 to play. After Rubacha and Delgadillo traded goals, Herring sandwiched a pair of goals around a tally from freshman Emmeline Bronson (Shelton, Conn.) to close the gap to 6-5 with 13 minutes remaining in the first half.

Kiasi netted an unassisted strike to put Newbury ahead 7-5, but Bay Path wrapped up the opening stanza with goals from Herring and junior Megan McKenna (Bennington, Vt.) to even the score at 7-7 at the half.

Bay Path secured the lead for good early in the second half as Herring potted a man-advantage goal in the opening minute, followed by a goal from Rubacha less than a minute late to put the Wildcats on top 9-7. After a free-positing goal from Herring gave Bay Path a 10-8 lead, Newbury evened the score with back-to-back goals from Gorham and Delgadillo. Rubacha converted in the 40th minute, but Gorman answered four minutes later to knot the contest at 11-11.

Bay Path put the game away down the stretch with five goals in the final 15 minutes of play, kicked off with a goal from junior Brittany Lacombe (West Springfield, Mass.). McKenna and Herring scored back-to-back tallies in the 50th minute to pull away 14-11. Rubacha and sophomore Elizabeth Pavlidis (Torrington, Conn.) added late goals to secure the 16-11 victory.

Herring powered the Wildcat attack with a game-high seven goals on 11 shots with two assists. Rubacha netted a season-high four goals, while McKenna chipped in two goals and an assist. Sophomore goalkeeper Kristina Tran (Agawam, Mass.) recorded nine saves in the win.

Delgadillo paced the Nighthawks offense with a team-high four goals and an assist. Kiasi added three goals and an assist, while Gorham registered three goals. Sophomore goalie Keely Molloy (Staten Island, N.Y.) notched eight saves for Newbury.

The Wildcats will return to action when they host Wheelock College in an NECC clash at Ryan Field Sunday at 11:00 a.m. The Nighthawks will host Mitchell College in NECC play Wednesday at 3:00 p.m.