Worcester, MA --- Junior Molly Kilday (Westford, MA) potted five goals and sophomore Jackie Connors (Ashland, MA) registered seven points to lead Worcester State past Manhattanville, 21-8, in non-conference women's lacrosse action this evening from the multi-sports complex on the campus of Assumption College.
Connors finished with four markers and a trio of assists to help spark the Lancers (2-0). Senior Vicki O'Brien (Canton, MA) found the back of the net on four occasions and sophomore Kaila Chase (Northbridge, MA) added four goals and one helper for five points.
The Valiants (0-4) received a six-point effort (five goals, one assist) from senior Casandra Honovich (Cortlandt Manor, NY) while classmate Brooke Marcimo (Shrewsbury, MA) added a pair of markers and one helper in the defeat.
Manhattanville opened the scoring just 43 ticks into the contest when Honovich fired one home with help from junior Meghann Haggerty (Centerport, NY) for the 1-0 advantage.
The Blue and Gold responded quickly scoring five goals over the next nine minutes with only one Hanovich goal sandwiched in between to capture the 5-2 lead at the 21:09 mark. Kilday potted a pair during the stretch.
After another Hanovich goal at the 18:03 mark of the opening half made the score 5-3 in favor of the hosts, Worcester State embarked on a 7-2 run to grab the 12-5 halftime lead.
Kilday then tied her career high by scoring three times over the spurt while Chase netted a pair as well. Marcimo struck for the Valiants with 8:56 left and a late Honovich goal gave the visitors life as headed into the intermission.
The second half was all Worcester State as they hit running time with 22:45 to play after a goal by junior Angela Grassetti (Feeding Hills, MA) gave them the 16-6 edge.
Haggerty tried to give Manhattanville one last burst of offense with her score at the 15:53 mark making the score 18-7, however, O'Brien rattled off three consecutive scores over a four minute span to put the game out of reach at 21-7 with 8:23 remaining.
A late Marcimo goal accounted for the final score.
WSU freshman net minder Lea Robichaud (Holden, MA) stopped four shots to record her second win of the contest in as many starts while her counterpart junior Kirsten Shaughnessy (Le Center, Michigan) made three saves and fell to 0-2 on the season.
In addition to her three points, Grassetti distinguished herself defensively with team highs of five ground balls and four caused turnovers while freshman Angelina Sutherland (Tyngsboro, MA) and Connors combined for seven draws.
Honovich, who finished the game one marker shy of equaling the program mark for career tallies, was a force in the transition game with 10 draw controls to help the visitors lead in the category, 17-14.
Worcester State held the 24-13 lead in shots on goal and the 26-20 edge in ground balls.
The Lancers converted 15 of their 18 clear attempts while the Valiants managed only four successful attempts on 13 tries.
Manhattanville returns to action on Saturday as they host the College of New Jersey at 1 PM and the Lancers head down to sunny Myrtle Beach on spring break and face-off with Eastern Connecticut State next Wednesday at 10 AM.
Story By John Hanna --- Sports Information Graduate Assistant
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