NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College women's lacrosse team led wire-to-wire defeating visiting Smith College 17-3 on Wednesday night from Silfen Field. Conn improves to 2-2 while Smith falls to 2-4.
Conn started quickly, opening the scoring just 49 seconds in. Elizabeth Gill () fed Greta Panke (Milldale, Conn.) in front of the cage who fired home to make it 1-0. Smith answered straight away as Danika Lipchitz got the Pioneers on the board just 20 seconds later. The Camels answered with a 4-0 run to end the quarter as Kate Coughlin (Reading, Mass.) scored twice, while Emma Ognibene (New Canaan, Conn.) and Aine Downey (Brookline, Mass.) both tallied one, as Conn led 5-1 after the first.
Conn continued to dominate play in the second quarter, as the Camels outscored Smith 6-0 in the frame. Coughlin completed her hat trick at 13:53, before Campbell Johnston (Duxbury, Mass.) and Gill went back-to-back to extend the lead to 8-1 at 10:55. Ognibene tallied a woman-down goal at 6:02 before two more goals from Coughlin had Conn in front 11-1 at the break.
Caroline Bruce (Acton, Mass.) pushed the lead to 12-1 with an early tally in the third quarter. Johnston then found Panke in front for her second goal of the night at 8:59. Smith finally ended the Conn run at 4:33 as Sadie Tschider made it 13-2. Coughlin became the playmaker late in the frame, as she found Gill who fired home to give the Camels a 14-2 edge heading to the fourth.
Conn scored twice early in the final frame, as Ognibene completed her hat trick, before Bruce notched her second to make it 16-2 with 11:17 to play. The Pioneers got a goal back from Layna Fitzgerald with under four minutes to play, but Suzie Smith (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) converted on a free-position shot in the final two minutes to give Conn the 17-3 win.
Conn outshot Smith 37-9, while holding a 14-9 advantage on draw controls.
Ava Virga (Watertown, N.Y.) picked up the win in the cage, finishing with five saves. Coughlin paced the Camels attack with six points on five goals and one assist. Bruce and Ognibene both added four points on two goals and two assists and three goals and one assist respectively. Gill and Johnston both chipped in three points, while Panke and Smith both added two points, with Downey tallying one goal. Defensively, Conn forced 12 turnovers with Sydney Weber (Hanover, Mass.) and Brogan Holbrough (Rochester, N.Y.) forcing three. Weber added six ground balls and five draw controls to pace Conn.
Brooke Testa got the start in goal finishing with five saves in one half of action, while Shannon Houtenville played the other half and recorded four saves. Fitzgerald paced Smith with two points, while three other Pioneers tallied one point.
Conn returns to action on Saturday afternoon, as the Camels host Bowdoin at 12:00 p.m. on Silfen Field.
