March 30, 2008

Five alive
Falcons net 17 in home opener
| Box |

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Notre Dame Lacrosse team defeated Adrian (MI) ,17-3 at Korb Field to improve their 2008 record to 5-3. The win marks the fifth consecutive for NDC after starting the season 0-3. It was Adrian's (4-1) first loss in their inaugural season.

Adrian got on the board just 30 seconds into the match when a misfired pass from Ashley Starkey (Jr/Farmington Hills, MI) was intercepted and redirected into the goal by Kylie Flett (Sr/Adelaide, Australia). The Bulldogs fired again to go up 2-0 when Sierra Roberts (So/East Jordan, MI) snuck a shot past Flett on a free position.

The Bulldogs' lead was quickly cut to one when Molly Merril (Jr/Medina, OH) found the back of the net and quickly rallied for another off a pass from Jenna Schuerman (Jr/Savage, MN). NDC secured the lead for good just minutes later when Schuerman found Ashley Rutz (Fr/Milton, ONT) in the middle for her first goal of the game.

Defensively, Nikki Gatlin (Sr/Bedford, OH) lead the charge with four caused turnovers while also picking up two goals of her own. Jo Bauswein (Jr/Bainbridge, OH) also pitched in defensively with three more caused turnovers, three groundballs and three draw controls.

Flett finished the day with three saves while Rachel Tarasco (Fr/Mentor, OH) had one in her collegiate debut.

Scoring for the Falcons was lead by Rutz who notched five goals and two assists for seven total points. Merrill and Shuerman chipped in five points apiece. Merril had four goals and one assist while Shuerman had two scores and three helpers.

Ashley Starkey, Roberts and Andrea Soloko (Fr/Northville, MI) had a goal apiece for Adrian. Amanda Faraone (Fr/Mentor, OH) turned away nine shots between the pipes.

The Falcons' next game is slated for Saturday, April 5, when they host the Bearcats of St. Vincent (PA), the second game in a four game homestand. The first draw is scheduled for 2:00pm. Last year, the Falcons defeated St. Vincent 14-13 in Latrobe, Penn.

NOTES FROM THE NEST...

SUPER 17: Notre Dame's 17 goals marks a new season high. The Falcons had scored a previous season high of 12 against Wittenberg (Mar. 14) before Sunday's scoring barrage. Seven different Falcons pitched in for the win while five were responsible for multiple goals.

STREAK SNAPPED: After five consecutive games with at least three goals, Gena McPherson's (So/Brampton, ONT) scoring streak was snapped against Adrian. McPherson currently leads the team in total points with 24 goals and 5 assists.