Women's Lacrosse Uses 6-0 Start to Cruise Past Elon 12-4
BOX SCORE
ELON, N.C.- After winning the first five draw controls to go up 6-0 early, University at Albany women's lacrosse (1-1) handed Elon (4-2) a 12-4 home loss on Friday night. Senior Julie Cryderman and junior Dakotah Savitcheff finished with four points each.
The Purple & Gold got out to a fast and furious pace, dominating time of possession. Dakotah Savitcheff put UAlbany up 2-0 less than 10 minutes into the contest on the road.
With Julie Cryderman in the circle, Battaglino & co., won the first five draw controls. The Phoenix had a chance to get on the board as Sierra McIver picked up the first yellow card of the game; but a hasty shot and a big ground ball pick up from Sarah Martin helped the Great Danes escape down one player.
Cryderman also got in on the scoring end, netting her third goal of the year mid-way through the period. Elon's keeper nearly reached midfield in an attempt to clear, but Emma Powlin forced the turnover and turned to take advantage of an empty net. Powlin hit Cryderman in the two-on-one opportunity to jump out to a 3-0 lead.
With momentum continuing to swing in UAlbany's favor, Alie Jimerson took one step past her defender to score unassisted less than a minute after Cryderman's goal.
The offense kept up the pace off the draw to take advantage of Elon's tired defense. Martin found Cryderman cutting across the middle of the fan to give UAlbany a 5-0 lead just over the midway point of the first half.
Following the fifth goal, the Danes did not win the draw but Rachel Bowles scooped up a ground ball on a Courtney Henderson save to regain control. She went down to the other end to blow by her defender and net her first goal of the season. The tally for a 6-0 edge was her 139th career goal.
Elon gathered its composure to score twice before the end of the half. Savitcheff recorded her third strike to the back of the cage from Bowles as the clock ticked down on the opening stanza.
With a 7-2 lead at the break, the Great Danes out-drew the Phoenix 7-3 in the first 30 minutes. UAlbany also scored on seven of its 11 shots.
Neither team scored for 15 minutes, as Courtney Henderson made four saves including two on free position attempts.
Bowles put the Danes back on the board after forcing a turnover on her own foul near midfield. After chasing down the ball, Bowles charged through the open field to capture an 8-2 advantage.
The ride continued to pay off, as Cryderman and Jimerson put more pressure on Elon keeper Rachel Ramirez. With Ramirez on the edge of the crease, Cryderman knocked the ball loose and into the net.
After Elon converted on a free position attempt with six minutes to play, the Phoenix began adding Ramirez to the defensive mix in the field. Sarah Martin made Elon pay with a free position goal of her own to enter double digits, 10-2. Martin tallied her first score of the season.
The Danes tallied two goals in the final 15 seconds of the game to seal a 12-4 victory.
Cryderman netted a career-high four goals against the Phoenix. After two games, she is the team's leading goal scorer with six. Savitcheff also recorded four points on three goals and one assist. Henderson made eight saves with just four goals against between the pipes.
With three points and two goals on Friday night, senior Rachel Bowles is now in sole possession of third on the UAlbany all-time career points leaderboard with 187. She needs six more to become the all-time record holder. She also netted her 140th career goal against the Phoenix.
Next up, UAlbany women's lacrosse continues its North Carolina road trip at No. 4 UNC (3-2) on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
