SPRINGFIELD, Mass. Junior Riley Brennan (Wilbraham, Mass.) notched seven goals to help lead American International College past number 16 nationally ranked Stonehill College, 8-6, in Northeast-10 women's lacrosse action this evening from Abdow Field.
The victory moves AIC to 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the NE-10 leaping them above Stonehill to fifth in the conference as the Skyhawks fall to 5-5 on the year and 4-4 in conference play.
"We wanted to use our athleticism and our speed to control the game" commented head coach Ashley Casiano. "All week we prepared to push fast break and push tempo and I think it was very successful."
Stonehill opened the scoring just 2:33 into the game on a goal from senior Caitlin Sweeney (Hollis, N.H.), but the Jackets came right back just 45 ticks later to tie the game at 1-1 as junior Jessica Lawler (Mexico, N.Y.) found Brennan for her first of six first-half goals.
Brennan notched a free-position goal at the 24:52 mark before the Skyhawks came back to tie the game at 3-3 with goals from sophomore Taylor Shannahan (Mendham, N.J.) just 26 seconds apart.
Brennan then ran off four consecutive goals including three free-position shots before a late goal from Stonehill to go into the locker room with the 6-4 advantage.
The defenses stiffened in the second half limiting each other's opportunities as AIC managed to push the lead to 7-4 after Brennan found senior Cheyenne Carden (Branford, Conn.) for the score at the 23:19 mark.
However, just over a minute later the Skyhawks came right back with a goal of their own from junior Shannon Booth (Pearl River, N.Y.) for the 7-5 deficit. Back and forth play continued with strong defense as the game went scoreless for nearly 15 minutes before Brennan took advantage of a turnover and got herself another free-position shot and with a man-down was able to find the back of the cage for the three-goal lead again at 8-5 with 7:22 left in the half.
"They started to pressure us" mentioned Brennan. "That made us a little more timid out there and helped them slow us down offensively."
Stonehill returned the favor just 2:11 later as it was junior Michaela Brown (Pleasantville, N.Y.) scoring a man-down goal, her first of the season, for the 8-6 score.
Then with under a minute to play the Skyhawks clanked a post and junior Alexis Torosian (Hopkinton, Mass.) collected a huge groundball, but after an AIC turnover it was Torosian again making a pair of late saves including one on a free-position shot with 29 seconds left to seal the victory.
Torosian tied a season-high with 13 saves to improve to 7-4 on the year while her counterpart, sophomore Kaitlyn Hess (Guilderland, N.Y.) stopped eight shots in the defeat to fall to 5-5 for the year.
"I was watching the ball which is one of the biggest things a goalie can do" stated Torosian. "I wasn't falling for their fakes, I was really focused on the ball going into my stick and not the net."
The Hawks outshot the hosts 26-16 including a 19-16 mark on goal while controlling the ground balls 22-15 and each team had eight draws for the game.
Torosian and junior Abigail Cavallo (Centereach, N.Y.) both collected four groundballs apiece to pace the Jackets.
"This brings the whole team up, it shows we're different this year, we're winners this year and we are more confident" noted Torosian. "Confidence should definitely be booming for the team" Casiano concluded.
The seven wins so far this season is the most since eight in 2010, which is currently a program record for wins in a season.
The Jackets return to action on Wednesday as they travel to Franklin Pierce for a 6:30 p.m. contest.
