Women's Lax Tops Western Conn. for Third-Straight Win

Written by Joshua Soto (SJC-LI Sports Information)

Patchogue, NY| Heather Ferchland forced a turnover and picked up a groundball with 47 seconds remaining to secure St. Joseph's College's (L.I.) 10-9 victory over the Western Connecticut State Colonials (3-5) at Danzi Stadium on Tuesday, April 12. The win is the Golden Eagles' third-straight as they improve their record to 6-4.  

SJC jumped out to an early lead thanks to the play of its attack unit, with Ferchland, Jenna Kelleher, Meaghan Haber, and Tricia Barrett combining for 10 points on the day. The Colonials clawed back into the game late but were not able to find an equalizer.

Barrett opened the scoring two minutes into play, with Haber finishing a pass from Ferchland two minutes after Barrett's goal to give SJC an early two-goal advantage. Barrett continued the scoring streak at the 25 minute mark to give the Golden Eagles a 3-0 lead. Kelleher tacked on another goal with 23 minutes left in the half as St. Joseph's held the 4-0 advantage.

Western Connecticut rallied back as Destinee Carey netted back-to-back goals at the 21 and 14 minute marks to cut the Colonials' deficit in half (4-2).

The Golden Eagles took back their four goal lead with help from Jessica Cordano when she assisted on both Ferchland's and Kelleher's goals with 11:21 remaining in the first half. Carey was able to slip through the Golden Eagle defense to net two additional goals, as Western Connecticut gained ground to close its deficit 6-4 and the end of the half.

The visitors began the half with a free position goal from Carey who brought the Colonials within one (6-5) with 28 minutes left to play.

Kristin Caroll recorded her first goal of the day after with 24:53 left in the game to increase the Golden Eagles lead 7-5. At the 21 minute mark Ally Johnston would receive a feed from Ferchland who netted another goal as SJC increased the lead back to three (8-5).

The Golden Eagles and Western Connecticut traded a pair of goals as St. Joseph's was still able to hold on to its three point lead, 10-7, with seven minutes left in the game.  

The Colonials managed to score the two final goals of the game, with Lauren Bradshaw and Lindsey Eaniello tallying in the closing minutes, but Western Connecticut's rally ran out of time and SJC picked up a 10-9 win.

Lindsay Ramos recorded her sixth win of the season, compiling 12 saves on the afternoon.

Western Connecticut State went 3-11 on free position shots compared to St. Joseph's 1-5. The Colonials also had the advantage in shots, 31-27, and in ground balls 30-28.

The Golden Eagles will travel to Albany to take on the Sage Colleges on Saturday April 16 in a Skyline Conference contest scheduled for 4:30 PM.