FAIRFIELD, Conn. (April 5, 2009) – With just three of their nine shots finding the back of the net, the Saint Francis women's lacrosse team fell to the Northeast Conference's top-ranked Sacred Heart Pioneers, ranked in Fairfield, Conn., on Sunday afternoon.
The Red Flash fall to1-7 overall and 0-5 in the NEC. They are slated to play three times next week, starting with a non-conference match up with St. Mary's of California on April 8. Game time is set for 5 p.m. at DeGol Field in Loretto.
It took just two minutes for the Pioneers to send their first goal of the game past Red Flash goalkeeper Danielle Pokusa (Cinnaminson, N.J./Cinnaminson). Sacred Heart would put ten more past Pokusa in the first half while they Red Flash struggled to find the back of the net.
Sacred Heart scored twice in the first four minutes of the second half. Kate Simmons (Delran, N.J./Delran) put the Red Flash on the board with 23:45 remaining in the game, getting one past Pioneers goalkeeper Chelsea Wagner to make the score 13-1.
The Pioneers scored another before Jenna Griffiths (Loveland, Ohio/Usruline Academy) netted her fourth of the season on a feed from Sheri Fort (Sicklerville, N.J./Washington Township) with 17:25 left to play.
With the Flash on a roll, Fort then tallied one of her own, putting in her sixth of the season with a little under 14 to go in the game.
Sacred Heart was able to tap in two more, taking a 16-3 decision from Saint Francis.
The Red Flash had 12 shots, with nine coming on goal, to the Pioneers' 36 total hosts. SFU also grabbed 19 ground balls, including seven from Pokusa and four from Katie Jenkins (Rochester, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy). They also caused nine turnovers, with Meg Lamarche (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) taking credit for three of them.
This is the lowest goal total of the season for the Red Flash's reloaded offense, which has been averaging 10.86 goals per game in 2009.
Pokusa made 13 stops on the day, and currently sits second in the NEC in saves per game with an average of 11.86 per game.
