DAVENPORT, Fla. --- Stonehill College used a pair of first-half scoring runs to defeat Tusculum College 17-6 in non-conference women's lacrosse action Tuesday afternoon.
The 19th-ranked Skyhawks (1-1) received four goals and an assist from Shannon Booth and three goals and an assist from MacKenzie Pleshaw in the win over the Pioneers (3-4), who are in the midst of a three-game Spring Break trip to Florida.
Madison Malone led Tusculum with two goals and two assists while Savannah Elliott had a pair of goals, but the Pioneers were outshot 39-16 by the Skyhawks in the match. Stonehill finished with just six turnovers while forcing Tusculum into seven failed clears in 15 attempts.
Tusculum took a 1-0 lead on a free-position goal by Malone with 26:38 left in the first half, but two goals in a minute and a half by Pleshaw triggered a 5-0 run that gave Stonehill a 5-1 lead with 18:56 left in the half. Elliott answered 40 seconds later with a free-position goal, but the Skyhawks would respond with the final six goals of the half, including one with one second left from Elizabeth Vetter that sent Stonehill to halftime with an 11-2 lead.
The Skyhawks added two more goals early in the second half to go ahead 13-2 before Elliott scored her second of the day with 23:17 left. Malone tallied her second of the afternoon with 13:33 to go to bring the Pioneers within 15-4, but the Skyhawks received goals from Vetter and Pease to regain a 17-4 advantage with 5:34 left. The Pioneers closed out the scoring on goals from Hayley Bartlett with 4:45 remaining and Emily Gleason with 2:14 to go.
Malone's four points increased her career total to a school-record 151 points, while her two assists brought her to within one of reaching the 100 mark for her career. With her two goals, Elliott boosted her career total to 94 and moved her within six of tying the program record of 100 goals held by Kelsey Crow.
Malone led the Pioneers with three ground balls while Claire Stanton added two. Juliette Cusano led Tusculum with three draw controls, while Bartlett had a pair of draw controls for the Pioneers.
Stonehill finished the match with a 15-9 edge in draw controls over Tusculum, led by three apiece from Cara Corvino and Kaitlin Healey. Corvino also had four caused turnovers and three ground balls, while Jennifer Wheaton had four ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.
Kaitlin Winnie started in goal for the Pioneers and finished with 12 saves in just over 41 minutes of action, before giving way to Kaele Lawless who had two saves in 19 minutes of playing time. The Skyhawks split the game in goal, with Kaitlyn Hess making five saves in the first half and Bailey Herr following with two stops in the second half.
The Pioneers will wrap up their trip across Florida Thursday night at 7 p.m. at 17th-ranked Florida Tech.
