Fitchburg State Rallies Past Curry, 14-10

Laferriere becomes Falcons all-time career leader in goals and points

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The Fitchburg State women's lacrosse team rallied from two goals down in the first half to defeat the Colonels of Curry College, 14-10 in the second game of their 2017 Florida Spring Trip at the Dave Martins Field.

Fitchburg State was led by senior Ali Laferriere, who netted a game-best eight points on four goals and four assists as well as two ground balls, six draw controls and one caused turnover, while junior Carrie Long added three points on three markers as well as five ground balls, three draw controls and five caused turnovers.

With the four goals and eight points, Laferriere becomes the Falcons all-time career leader in goals (183) and points (236), surpassing former Falcon attacker Amanda Burns career totals of 182 goals and 235 points.

For Curry, senior Kelly Parker registered a team-leading five points on four scores and one helper with two ground balls, five draw controls and three caused turnovers, while classmate Malorie Knowlton chipped in with four goals, four ground balls, three draw controls and three caused turnovers.

Curry took a quick 2-0 lead on tallies by senior Abby Carnevale and Parker before the Falcons knotted the game (2-2) on goals from freshman Tracy Long and C. Long. The Colonels answered back with four straight markers as Knowlton led the way with a pair of goals, while senior Lauren Carroll and Parker added one score each for the 6-2 margin.

The Falcons responded, scoring three of the final four goals of the first half as Laferriere, C. Long and T. Long found the back of the net to make the score 7-5 going into the intermission.

Following the break, the Green and Gold netted the first score of the second half on a goal by C. Long (7-6). After a goal by Knowlton to push the Colonels lead to 8-6, Fitchburg State rallied to knot the score (9-9) on back-to-back tallies by sophomore Anna Gagnon-Burch (9-9).

The Falcons continued the offensive pressure, scoring the next five goals with Laferriere providing the spark with three markers, while sophomore Nicole Lee and T. Long chipped in with one score each, resulting in the 14-10 final.

Throughout the contest, Fitchburg State held a 32-19 edge in shots, while Curry finished with a 26-18 advantage in groundballs. In between the pipes, sophomore Marguerite Belcher stopped seven shots for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while senior Rachel Smith made ten saves for Colonels in 60 minutes of work.

Fitchburg State (2-2, 0-0 MASCAC) returns to action on Thursday as it takes on the Brewers of Vassar College at 9:30 a.m. in Port Charlotte, Fla. Curry (2-2, 0-0 CCC) will battle Smith College on Thursday in Port Charlotte, Fla. for a contest starting at 12:30 p.m.

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