ALBANY, NY – The Alfred University women's lacrosse team cruised to its first Empire 8 victory of the season at Russell Sage College, 13-9, on Saturday.
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The Saxons (2-2, 1-0 Empire 8) outscored the Gators (0-3, 0-1 Empire 8), 7-2, in the first half. AU had a 4-2 advantage in the third before being outscored in the fourth, 5-2, by Russell Sage College. Despite the comeback by the Gators, the Saxons were able to score two crucial goals in the fourth to come out on top.
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Leading the way for AU were Paige Stansfield (Painted Post, NY/Corning-Painted Post) and Sydney Angelo (Windsor, NY/Windsor Central), who both contributed three goals apiece. Angelo led the Saxons with five ground balls and caused one turnover.
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Kylee Bedette (Waterloo, NY/Waterloo) and Megan Rinker (Le Roy, NY/Le Roy) served as dual threats as they each notched two goals, an assist and three ground balls. Rinker led AU with a season-high four caused turnovers. She teamed up with teammate Lauren Sfeir (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) for a combined eight draw controls.
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Morgan Wise (Kittanning, PA/Armstrong) finished the day with two goals, four ground balls and two caused turnovers. Jessica Matson (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) recorded three ground balls and a caused turnover while scoring one goal.
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Molly Howlett (Brockport, NY/Brockport) grabbed nine saves in net while picking up three ground balls and causing a turnover.
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The Saxons got the scoring going in the first period with goals from Bedette and Angelo. Stansfield contributed back-to-back points with five minutes to go. The first 15 minutes concluded with AU leading 4-2.
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The Saxons held the Gators scoreless while tallying three goals in the second. Wise and Matson registered their first points of the game. Angelo notched her second goal to extend AU's advantage by five at halftime, 7-2.
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The Saxons continued to build on their lead in the majority of the second half. AU led by as many as eight at the start of the fourth, 12-4.
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The Gators did not go down quietly, mounting a furious five-goal rally. However, Wise flipped the ball into the net for a crucial goal in the middle of the rally at 4:24 to halt the comeback and secure the victory for the Saxons.
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"A solid first half for us today," Interim Head Coach Erin Schurr said. "We struggled holding that level of consistency that we needed throughout the game, but still managed to secure our first conference win. Excited to be back at home on Monday to keep building."
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AU next hosts Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night against E8 foe Elmira College on Monday at 4:00 PM.