CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- With the Great Danes matching its best-ever Division I start, a pair of Albany women's lacrosse players have been honored by the conference office for the week ending March 14. Seniors Kayla Best (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) and Ashley Ross (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley) were tabbed the league's player and defensive player of the week. Stony Brook freshman Kerry Kresse (Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) became the third different Seawolf honored this season after she picked up the rookie of the week award.
Best finished the week with 10 goals in two games in addition to three ground balls, five draw controls and a caused turnover. She scored four of her season-high five goals in the second half of a 17-4 win over Canisius on Sunday. Earlier in the week, Best netted three of her five goals in the first half of an 18-2 victory at Siena. She added a season-high three draw controls as well. The senior midfielder recorded a .714 shooting percentage on the week by making 10-of-14 attempts on the cage. Best also extended her goal-scoring streak to 50 games, second longest in the nation.
Ross, in her first year as a starting lacrosse goalkeeper after a successful career with the Albany field hockey program, stopped 15 shots last week with a save percentage of .714. She also had a 3.00 GAA last week and compiled five ground balls. Ross equalled her career high with 11 saves in a 17-4 win over Canisius, included five stopped free-position shots. Two of those came in the first half when the game was still closely contested with Albany holding just a 5-3 halftime lead. In four starts this season, Ross has a .569 save percentage and a 6.52 GAA.
Kresse totaled three points on one goal and two assists in last week's 12-6 win over Massachusetts, more than doubling her season points total. Her first collegiate goal came late in the first half to break a 2-2 tie with the Minutewomen. Both of Kresse's helpers came in the second half to help the Seawolves outscore the visitors, 9-3 over the final 30 minutes after the first half ended in a 3-3 deadlock.
Team Notebooks:
Albany (3-1, 0-0 AE) has matched its best start as a Division I program following wins over Siena (18-2) and Canisius (17-4)… The Great Danes also won three of their opening four games to begin the 2006 campaign … UAlbany has won all 13 meetings in the crosstown series with Siena and built an 11-0 lead with 11:04 left in the opening period… Sophomore Melanie Sosnowski (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) netted all four of her goals in the first half … Taylor Frink (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) had a career-best six points (4 g, 2 a)... Kayla Best (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) tallied a season-high five goals at Siena and added five more vs. Canisius... Best scored four straight times early in the second half to break open a tight contest… The senior midfielder has at least one goal in 50 straight games, the nation’s second-longest streak… Best moved past Hall of Famer Debbie August ’96 into third on the career goals chart with 134… Mel Rorie (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) equaled a career high with four points (3 g, 1 a) vs. Canisius… Christine Grueniger (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) established a single-game best with six points (4 g, 2 a) against Canisius… Grueniger climbed to 10th on the program’s all-time list with 72 goals… All-league midfielder Nikki Branchini (Guilderland, N.Y./Guilderland) combined for 10 GB and eight DC in two games last week… Goalkeeper Ashley Ross (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley) made 11 saves and stopped five free-position attempts vs. Canisius.
Junior Beth Moore exploded for five goals but it was not enough to overcome the hosting Canisius College Griffens as the Binghamton women's lacrosse team (0-3, 0-0 AE) fell 13-11 on Wednesday afternoon.... The Griffins started the game strong, netting the first two goals of the game and keeping the Bearcats off the scoreboard for more than 16 minutes. Moore ended the dry spell with a goal at the 13:34 mark and sophomore Allie Sabitus added her first of the season less then two minutes later to even the score at two. Both teams would score three more before halftime, including two from Moore, and be deadlocked at five at the half... Canisius again would jump out to a two goal advantage early in the second half, and although the Bearcats would tie the game, the Giffs held steady down the stretch to close out the game... Canisius took 43 shots, far more then the Bearcats would only took 22 on the game and only 10 in the second half. Binghamton also turned the ball over 27 times compared to 20 for the Griffs... Binghamton is in action next at Monmouth on Sunday March 21 at noon..
No. 9/12 Boston University (3-2, 0-0 AE) fell to a pair of ranked opponents on its spring break trip, dropping a 10-6 contest to then-No. 5 Duke on Wednesday before being handed a 10-5 loss at then-No. 18 Vanderbilt on Saturday... The Terriers held the Blue Devils to just two second-half goals, but could not erase an 8-3 halftime deficit... On Saturday, the Commodores jumped out to a 6-0 lead and never looked back... Senior attacker McKinley Curro (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan) scored two goals in each contest and classmate Traci Landy (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) tallied three goals on the week... Senior goalkeeper Rachel Klein (Forest Hill, Md./Roland Park) made 26 saves over the two games, including a career-high 18 in the Vanderbilt game... Junior Rachel Collins (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) recorded team highs of five ground balls and three caused turnovers against Vanderbilt... Junior Corcoran Downey (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) caused a trio of turnovers in the Duke game... The Terriers will compete a stretch of three straight road games on Wednesday (March 17) with a visit to Harvard for a 4 p.m. contest... Boston U. will return to Nickerson Field on Saturday to face No. 9 Notre Dame at noon.
UMBC (4-3, 0-0 AE) defeated Monmouth, 11-6, on Wednesday in its only game of the week… Junior attack Erika Braerman (Fallston, Md./Fallston) led the Retrievers with a career-high seven points on five goals and two assists… She gave UMBC the lead for good with 6:13 remaining in the first half and scored all four of her team’s second-half goals… Monmouth led, 4-2, midway though the first period, but senior midfielder Amanda Gable (Mount Airy, Md./Glenelg) scored back-to-back goals to spark a 5-0 UMBC run to end the half… Playing in just her second game of the season after recovering from injury, junior defender Meagan Linkous (Jarresttsville, Md./North Harford) tallied three points on two goals and an assist… Senior defender Sarah Willis (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) recorded six ground balls and five caused turnovers… Senior goalie Kate Quick (Phoenix, Md./Maryvale Prep) registered nine saves and six ground balls… She has stopped at least eight shots in six of seven games on the year… Twelve different Retrievers have found the back of the net this season led by Braerman’s 16 goals… She also boasts team highs of 11 assists and 20 points, and she has scored a point in all seven games this season with a goal in six of seven… The Retrievers conclude a three-game home stand on Wednesday when they host American, then begin a four-game road trip at Delaware on Sunday.
UNH (4-2, 0-0 AE), ranked 15th in last week’s IWLCA Poll, dropped a pair of games with a 10-9 double overtime loss to Harvard and a 20-6 loss at second-ranked Maryland… Senior attacker and tri-captain Shaunna Kaplan (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) became the 11th UNH Wildcat to reach the 150 point milestone with her first-half goal vs. Harvard on March 9; she enters this week’s action with 89 goals and 62 assists for 151 points… The Wildcats overcame an 8-3 deficit vs. Harvard by outscoring the Crimson 5-1 in the second half and forcing the extra sessions… That loss ended a five-game winning streak at Memorial Field dating back to last season… Sophomore attacker JoJo Curro (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan) scored three goals at Maryland to match her career high she established earlier this season vs. nationally-ranked Dartmouth… Freshman goalkeeper Kathleen O’Keefe (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) made her collegiate debut with a 13:54 relief stint vs. Harvard; she was credited with one save and surrendered two goals… O’Keefe received the starting nod at Maryland and recorded 14 saves in playing the full 60 minutes… Sophomore midfielder Hayley Rausch (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) matched her career highs in goals (four) and points (five) vs. Harvard… The 20 goals by Maryland marked the highest goal output by a UNH opponent since April 2006.
Stony Brook (2-4, 0-0 AE) snapped a two-game losing streak with a 12-6 win over Massachusetts on Saturday… The Seawolves outscored the Minutewomen, 9-3, in the second half after a 3-3 first half… Junior Melissa Cook (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) led all players with three goals… After UMass took a 4-3 lead, Stony Brook scored seven of the game’s next eight goals… Cook, junior Samantha Djaha (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) and sophomore Jackie Hughes (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Oceanside) each scored two goals in the second half… Junior Mickey Cahill (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) was outstanding, making 10 saves… Three of her five saves in the second half came on free-position shots… The six goals by UMass was the fewest allowed by Stony Brook since Lehigh scored four on February 28, 2007… Stony Brook went 4-for-4 on free position shots… The Seawolves host two home games this week… They host Hofstra on Wednesday afternoon and Columbia on Saturday afternoon.
Vermont (1-3, 0-0 AE) picked up its first win of the year with a 21-13 victory at Jacksonville... Sophomore Allison Pfohl (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) scored a career-high five goals and Sara Buxton (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) added a season-high five tallies to lead eight different scorers for the Catamounts... Buxton moved to within five points of the 100-point milestone. She has 80 goals and 15 assists for 95 points in 54 career games... Senior Alison Haigh (Northborough, Mass./Algonquin Regional) is three goals shy of 50 for her career after netting a hat trick against the Dolphins... After opening the season with four straight road games, the Catamounts host Siena on Wednesday (March 17) in the home opener at 3 p.m. and also face Marist on Saturday (March 20) at 1 p.m. at Moulton Winder Field.