Albany, NY— A total of 13 different players scored for the Nazareth College women's lacrosse team in a 22-2 Empire 8 Conference triumph over The Sage Colleges at ACP Field Saturday afternoon. The Golden Flyers now are 8-7 overall and 5-2 in the league while the Gators stand 2-11 and 1-5 in the Empire 8 after their Senior Day game.
At halftime of the contest, two seniors from the Sage women's lacrosse program were recognized with family members. Goalkeeper Jenna Cislak (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) and defender Tasharif Carr (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) were honored and introduced prior to their final home game.
Emma Robinson led Nazareth with five goals and Regan McGwin scored four with an assist. Kellie Byrne also had five points, with three assists and two goals. Addilys Geitner scored twice and Rachel Wilson had two assists with a goal. Lily Aldrich dished out three assists and Rachel Wilson added an assist with a goal. The Golden Flyers got single goals by Lauren Caldwell, Madison Fox, Emily Allen, Jordan Knapp, Dylann Hogan, Emma Parry and Jade Hendricks. Eight of Robinson's nine shots were on net, and Aldrich had a game high six ground balls. Vicki Arena won seven draw controls.
Sage got goals from yunior midfielder Brittany Gage (Pine Bush, NY/Pine Bush) and sophomore midfielder Sophia Keravich (Barrington, NH/Oyster River). Sophomore midfielder Naya Green (Brooklyn, NY/KIPP Prep) had an assist for the Gators. Gage had a team high four draw controls and also five shots, all on net, which also led the Gators. Sophomore Carly Plaisance (Bennington, VT/Mount Anthony Union) got the start and made 12 saves with a team high four ground balls in just over 22 minutes. Her 12 stops matched her season high set March 19 vs. Elms. Sophomore Marina Azab (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) played nearly 38 minutes and saved five Nazareth shots.
Nazareth had a 44-11 shot advantage and had 35 of the 55 ground balls in the contest. The Golden Flyers won 19 of the 26 draw controls and were successful on 12 of 15 clear attempts. Nazareth led 3-0 before Keravich tallied her fifth of the season on a free position attempt at 21:45. But the Golden Flyers scored the next 10 in the half before Gage's 18th of the season at 2:34 provided the 13-2 score at the half.
Sage finishes the regular season with two Empire 8 road games next week. On Tuesday, April 23, the Gators are at Stevens for a 6 p.m. game and on Saturday, April 27, they are at St. John Fisher for a 1 p.m. start. Nazareth is at RIT Tuesday at 4 p.m.