Lacrosse Drops NEWMAC Opener 15-10 to Smith on Saturday

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Seven different Pioneers score in a 15-10 win over Wellesley in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) season opener. The Blue fall to 2-2 overall as Smith improves to 3-3.  

Smith sophomore Tatum Galuski (Ipswich, Mass.) set the tone with four goals on six shots. Junior Stella Alphas (Weston, Mass.) added a hat trick and two ground balls. Sydney Havlick (Murrieta Calif.) and Reese Gittelman (Ocean City, Md.) each added a pair of goals in the win. 

Senior Izzy Burdick (Scarborough, Maine) tied a game-high four goals to go along with three assists for the Blue. Junior Liz Sugg (Palermo, Maine) recorded three goals and a pair of assists. Senior Zoe Reynolds (Downers Grove, Ill.) added a multi-goal game and two ground balls. 

Smith got on the board first after Alphas and Havlick netted back-to-back goals. Burdick would answer for the Blue after scoring on a nice dish by Sugg. The Pioneers quickly responded with a goal scored by Galuski and took a 3-1 lead at the 7:18 mark. With the first quarter winding down, Burdick tallied her second goal of the period and cut the Pioneer lead to just one. Havlick would score just 13 seconds later and Smith led 4-2 after one.

The Blue opened up the second quarter on fire by scoring the first three goals. Burdick led the way with assists on two goals scored by Sugg and adding one of her own as Wellesley led 5-4. Smith would tie the game back up at 5-5 after a goal by Galuski. The Blue regained the lead on consecutive goals by Reynolds and Willa McGough, who scored the first goal of her collegiate career, and Wellesley led 7-5 at the half.

The match was quickly tied up to begin the second half after Sadie Tschider (Piedmont, Calif.) and Arancio found the back of the net. The Pioneers kept the pressure on and completed a 5-0 run to take a 10-7 lead with 7:07 to go in the third period. Sugg would end the run and score her third goal of the game to cut the lead to two. After goals from Arancio and Reynolds, Smith held an 11-9 lead after three quarters of play. The Pioneers took control of the fourth quarter by netting the first four goals and taking a 15-9 lead. Burdick would add one with 5:05 to play off an assist by Gabrielle Shell (Upper Arlington, Ohio), but the effort was too late as Smith held on to a 15-10 win.

Blue keeper Lorna Li (Taunton, Mass.) made a season high eight saves on 18 shots faced. Smith outshot the Blue 25-21 and forced 25 turnovers.

The Blue head to Bridgewater State on Wednesday, March 23 at 7:00 PM. Smith will meet Castleton University on Wednesday at 6:00 PM.