QU Women’s Lacrosse Drops 10-6 Decision at Home to Iona

Wednesday, April 13

Hamden, CT

3:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

2-11, 0-5MAAC

Iona

7-6, 2-2MAAC

Team	1	2	Final F
Iona College	6	4	10
Quinnipiac	2	4	6

QU Women’s Lacrosse Drops 10-6 Decision at Home to Iona

4/13/2016 6:22:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

Iona Rides 6-1 Run to the Victory; Kiera Kelly Leads QU With Six Ground Balls and Five Caused Turnovers

By: QU Sports Information

HAMDEN, Connecticut – In what was largely an even game throughout more than 30 minutes of play, Iona benefited greatly from a 6-1 run that carried into the second half and led the way for a 10-6 victory for the Gaels over the Quinnipiac women's lacrosse team on Wednesday afternoon.

Going up against two of the three most lethal scorers in the conference – Mary Kate McCormick and Erin Pugh – the Bobcats made it difficult all afternoon on the dominant talents as McCormick finished with just two points (season-low) while Pugh tallied four goals but only had two before the final five minutes of play.

McCormick came in ranking as the MAAC's leading scorer with 54 points (21 goals, 33 assists) and 4.75 points per game (12^th NCAA) heading into play but the face guarding defense from Leah Walter (Londonderry, New Hampshire) frustrated the Gaels' top scorer all afternoon as she only landed a free position tally and one assist on the day. McCormick's average of 2.75 assists per game heading into the day ranked third in the nation as her one assist is a season-low.

What proved to be the difference in the game was the unforeseen depth goal scoring the Gaels came up with as seven different players scored on the day, including six players who tallied one goal. In the first half alone, six Iona goals were scored by six different Gaels as the looks McCormick and Pugh weren't getting were being finished by players who were stepping into a leading role with the Bobcat defensive game plan being executed perfectly.

With the strong defense in full effect, Quinnipiac's offense found the back of the net early as Alex Hlesciak (Lumberton, New Jersey) took a feed from Kathleen DeVito (Glastonbury, Connecticut) and finished a rather uncontested early goal that made it 1-1.

Midway through the opening half, Aileen Carey (Long Beach, New York) got in on the action as she found an opening in the middle and Allison Kuhn (Kingsville, Maryland) found her from behind the cage with the feed that kept the score very much within reach at 3-2 Gaels with 15:48 left in the first half.

Unfortunately for the Bobcats, the next 28 minutes was dominated largely by the Gaels as Iona rode a 6-1 run into an 8-3 advantage nearly midway through the second half. Luck certainly was not on the side of the Bobcats in the offensive zone as Quinnipiac saw three shots hit the post on the day, including two in the 6-1 Iona run.

Kyle Larkin (Holbrook, New York) was on her A game early in the second half as the sophomore goalkeeper for the Bobcats kept her team within reach of the lead as she saved four of the first five Iona shots in the second half and went on to finish with 10 saves on the day for her sixth double digit save outing of 2016 and the seventh of her two-year career.

DeVito broke up the Iona run with her 10^th goal of the season that made it 8-4 Iona with 7:14 remaining. The Gaels then proceeded to turn the ball over on offense after claiming the draw control but the Bobcats weren't able to break it out of their defensive zone and Pugh cashed in for the put-away goal.

Carey added a late tally for the Bobcats to give her two goals on the day and a team-leading 19 for the season. Kiera Kelly (West Islip, New York) again filled the stat sheet as she finished with a game-high six ground balls and five caused turnovers as she now has 46 ground balls and 33 caused turnovers in 13 games this season, both totals lead the MAAC and sit Top 10 in the nation.

Up next for Quinnipiac is the start of a must-win situation as the Bobcats need victories in their last three games to have a chance at making the MAAC Tournament. The Bobcats begin the crucial three-game stretch at home on Saturday against Marist.