Women's Lacrosse | 4/25/2009 3:00:00 PM
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ROCHESTER, NY - No. 12 Stevens (14-0, 7-0 Empire 8) out-scored RIT 9-3 in the second half to erase a 5-2 halftime deficit and snap the RIT women's lacrosse team's (12-4, 7-1 Empire 8) program-record eight-game winning streak, 11-8 on a hot, sunny and breezy Saturday afternoon at the RIT Turf Field.
Down 5-2 at halftime, Stevens came out firing in the second half, scoring three times in the first 5:08 to tie the game at 5. After
#Allie Coppola (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park)# (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) gave RIT a 6-5 lead, Alyssa Pigott scored the first of her four second half goals to tie the game at 6. Just 11 seconds after Pigott's goal, #
Danielle Previ (Medford, NJ/Shawnee)# (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) gave RIT its final lead of the day, 7-6 with 18:21 to go. Kate Cox tied the game at seven, then Pigott scored twice in a 10-second span to give Stevens a 9-7 lead with 15:29 to go.
From there, the Ducks defense stiffened, causing several turnovers and keeping RIT to the outside.
#Ashley Pezze (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland)# (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) cut the Stevens lead to 9-8 with 7:58 left, but goals less than a minute apart by Christine Smith and Pigott put the game out of reach.
Stevens clinched the top seed and home-field advantage in next weekend's Empire 8 Tournament. RIT is the No. 2 seed.
RIT held Stevens to 11 goals, its fewest of the season. Stevens came into the game having scored at least 16 goals in every game this season. They were seventh in the nation in scoring, averaging 17.15 goals per game. The Ducks scored just two first half goals, by far their fewest of the season.
Pigott led the Ducks with five goals, giving her 60 on the season. She is the leading scorer in the Empire 8. Leah Wasserman had two goals and an assist, while Pamela Loria chipped in with a goal and three assists. Loria also led the Ducks with three draw controls. Sam Zucker caused three RIT turnovers.
Goalkeeper Grace Sack was excellent in the second half, stopping nine shots. She made 14 saves in the contest.
RIT goalkeeper
#Kelsey Evans (Carlisle, PA/Cumberland Valley)# (Carlisle, PA/Cumberland Valley) played well in defeat for the Tigers, stopping 16 shots. She made eight saves in each half.
Pezze led the Tigers with two goals and an assist. Previ tallied twice, while
#Rebecca Lampson (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan Academy)# (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan) and Coppola each had a goal and an assist.
#Eileen Hennigan (Liverpool, NY/Christian Brothers Academy)# (Liverpool, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) and
#Allyson Pisher (Holley, NY/Holley)# (Rochester, NY/Holley) also scored for RIT.
Pezze also led the way with five ground balls and three caused turnovers. Previ recorded five draw controls. Previ needs one point for 100 in her career.
The game was very evenly played, despite the goal disparity in each half. The Ducks out-shot RIT 32-31. RIT had 28 ground balls to 24 for Stevens.
RIT has allowed just 18 first-half goals over the last nine games.
The Tigers are the No. 2 seed in next weekend's Empire 8 Tournament which will be held at Stevens. Empire 8 Tournament information will be available on Monday.
