Fitchburg State Falls To Roanoke In Season Opener, 17-10

Burns totals five goals in Falcons setback to Maroons

SALEM, Va. (March 13, 2012) – The Fitchburg State women's lacrosse team opened its 2012 season this evening falling to Roanoke College, 17-10 in non-conference action at Donald J. Kerr Stadium.

Fitchburg State received a solid offensive effort from senior Amanda Burns (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) who opened the year with five goals on the night, while junior Jessica Bartlett (Marlborough, Mass./Marlborough) - two goals- and newcomer Lindsey White (Hanover, Mass./Hanover) - 1 goal, 1 assist - added two points apiece.

Roanoke opened a four goal lead in the first half, scoring in bunches as the Maroons registered the first four scores of the period and the last three tallies before the break. Freshman Darragh Evarts (Golden Bridge, N.Y./John Jay) and junior Kathleen Wager (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County) led the Roanoke first half efforts with two markers apiece, while Falcons netted three goals with three free position shots from Burns, Bartlett and Kristin Dooley (Salem, Mass./Salem).

In the second half, play picked up with both teams combining for 17 goals in the frame. Roanoke did most of the damaging touching for ten scores throughout the stanza, while Fitchburg State added seven with four scores coming off the stick of Burns.

The Maroons collected a strong offensive effort from Wager, who finished with a game-high 11 points (8 goals, 3 assists), while sophomore Allison Bonnano (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) added four goals and four assists on the evening. Evarts wrapped up the Roanoke top scores with three points, posting two goals and one helper.

In net, sophomore Dylana Drolette (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) turned in a complete game effort for Fitchburg State, totaling 12 saves throughout the match, while Maroon goalkeeper Lauren Curtin (Hudson, Ohio/Western Reserve Academy) notched ten saves for her second victory of the season.

For the contest, Roanoke out-shot Fitchburg State, 39-26 while posting a 23-19 advantage in groundballs. The Falcons did post a 15-13 margin in draw controls, while causing 17 turnovers throughout the game.

Fitchburg State (0-1, 0-0 NEWLA) will be back in action Thursday as it visit Ferrum College at 4:30 p.m. Roanoke (2-3, 1-0 ODAC) will host Wittenburg University on Sunday at 1 p.m.