Falcons Defeated by Wildcats in Season Opener, 14-9

Comeau tallies five goals in Falcons setback

Providence, R.I. – Fitchburg State University was defeated by Johnson & Wales, 14-9, in their season opener in a non-conference women's lacrosse contest at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletic Complex on Monday afternoon. 

Sophomore Andrea Comeau led the way for Fitchburg State with five goals while classmate Ali Laferriere added a pair of goals in the loss for the Falcons.

Sophomore Lydia Knapp scored five goals and added a pair of assists in the victory for Johnson & Wales, while Junior Marissa Hart also recorded a hat-trick with three goals and two assists in the victory

Comeau put Fitchburg on the board first with an unassisted goal just 1:28 into the contest.  Johnson & Wales responded, however and scored the next three, including a pair from Hart for the 4-1 lead.  Comeau then scored back-to-back goals to cut the lead to 4-3 with 11:53 left in the first half.  The score was tied 6-6 after a pair of goals by Fitchburg State with just over five minutes left in the first half.  Johnson & Wales then ran off the next four goals, including two from Schmell to take the 10-6 lead heading into halftime.

The Wildcats built on their lead early in the second half as a pair of goals by Knapp in the first five minutes gave JWU their largest lead of the game, 12-6.  The Wildcats then held on for the 14-9 victory.  JWU had a commanding 31-15 advantage in shots for the contest.

Senior Genevieve Giampetro tallied five saves in the win for Johnson & Wales while junior Elizabeth Darrigo made seven saves in the loss for Fitchburg State.

With the win Johnson & Wales is now 1-0 while Fitchburg State falls to 0-1 for the season.  The Green & Gold will be back on the turf on Thursday, March 19 against Colby-Sawyer. The Wildcats will return to action on Saturday, March 14 when they host Emmanuel in a GNAC contest at 12:00 p.m. 

COURTESY OF J&W SID OFFICE