Western New England Rolls Past Elms in Non-Conference Finale, 19-9

Ruby & Miller pace Golden Bears offensively

CHICOPEE, Mass. (April 15, 2019) – The Western New England University women's lacrosse team used a dominant first half performance to earn a 19-9 victory over Elms College on Monday night in non-conference action at Leary Field.

Top Performers
The Golden Bears were led offensively by junior Eileen Ruby (New Fairfield, Conn.) and sophomore Reilly Miller (Goshen, N.Y.). Ruby produced a game-high six points with three goals and three assists, while Miller scored a team-best five goals.

Freshmen Liz Mazza (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and Samantha Vitka (Stratford, Conn.) were also key contributors as Mazza recorded three goals and one assist, and Vitka finished with one goal, one assist and five draw controls.

Elms senior attack Vanessa Vurno (Salem, Conn.) paced the Blazers with three goals, two assists and three caused turnovers.

Game Review
Elms struck first as junior Haley Richard (Monson, Mass.) converted a free position attempt just over a minute into the contest. After Mazza got the Golden Bears on the board nine seconds later, the Blazers regained the lead at the 26:17 mark when Vurno buried an unassisted goal.

Western New England took control from there, however, posting a 6-0 run that began and ended with Miller goals at 24:02 and 17:26, respectively.

Elms was able to close the gap to four (8-4) after freshman Elese Ciarcia (Glastonbury, Conn.) scored on a feed from Richard with 13:59 left in the half, but the Golden Bears responded with a 5-0 spurt to extend their advantage to nine (13-4) with 5:11 on the clock.

Richard and Miller scored for their respective teams at 4:51 and 4:10, as Western New England held a 14-5 lead at the break.

The Golden Bears continued to pull away early in the second half with goals from Ruby, Mazza and senior Kristen Breen (Ellington, Conn.) to extend the cushion to 12 (17-5), and Western New England went on to post a ten-goal triumph.

Notes
• Western New England outshot Elms 47-17 and forced 21 Blazers turnovers.
• The Golden Bears were nearly perfect on clear attempts, going 14-for-15.

Up Next
Western New England (8-7) will be right back in action tomorrow night at Curry College, while Elms (8-5) hosts Southern Vermont on Wednesday.