WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> LIU defeated Saint Francis 11-6 in Saturday's Northeast Conference (NEC) women's lacrosse opener for both teams.
>> Brooke Lacey (Bethel, Conn.) tied a career-high in goals (3) and ground balls (4) and established a new career best in caused turnovers (2).
>> Bella Fisher (Duxbury, Mass.) registered two goals and five draw controls on her birthday, while Nancy Alden (East Lyme, Conn.) dished out two assists.
 
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
The Sharks jumped out to a 6-1 lead after the first quarter. The Red Flash cut the margin to three tallies twice in the first half and three times in the second half, but each time, LIU had an answer to prevent Saint Francis from cutting the margin any closer.

FLASH QUOTES
"I'm very disappointed in how we started the game. Getting down so quickly in the first quarter made it really difficult for us to come back. We had a couple of critical mental mistakes in the third period when we went offsides twice, just a few costly things when trying to build momentum. It was not our best performance, but we're going to regroup and get focused on Kent State." – head coach Tracy Coyne on the game

"Brooke Lacey was amazing. That was the best game she has played. She was all over the place. She had a truly outstanding game as a midfielder because she contributed on the attack, the midfield, and on defense." – Coyne on the play of Brooke Lacey

FLASH MOMENTS
Danielle Hernandez (New Fairfield, Conn.), who became the 12th player in program history to reach 100 points in her career in the match against St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, put the Red Flash on the scoreboard unassisted at 2:25 in the first quarter.

Saint Francis scored three of the four goals in the second quarter to go into the locker room trailing 7-4. Lacey started the scoring in the frame off a pass from Colleen Roche (Orlando, Fla.) at the 8:12 mark, and then Alden connected with Fisher for her first-afternoon goal at 6:20 to trim the margin to 6-3. After a Sharks score, Alden found Lacey with nine seconds left in the half.

Fisher twinkled the twine unassisted at 10:06, and Lacey completed her second career hat trick unassisted at 5:42 in the third quarter.

FLASH NUGGETS
Lacey, who finished the week with four goals and an assist, notched her first three-goal performance since finding the twine three times against Delaware State on March 5, 2023, the only other multi-goal game of her career. She also had four ground balls against Howard on March 29, 2023, while she notched a new career best in caused turnovers after registering two caused miscues against Oregon in the season opener on February 16.

Fisher, who had four tallies and two assists in the two games in the week, recorded at least two goals in a match for a career-high tying fourth-straight game and the 13th time in her two seasons in Loretto. It was also the third time this season and the seventh time she has corralled at least five draw controls in a game in her career. Fisher is the current NEC Co-Player of the Week.

Alden registered her first two assists of 2024 and now has four goals and two assists this season. It was the first time the junior recorded an assist since her freshman year when she had four helpers in a two-game span, including a career-high three dimes against Howard on March 30, 2022.

Taylor Coughlin recorded eight saves and two ground balls in between the pipes.

Erika Ellison (Everett, Wash.) and Victoria DiRenno (Suffern, N.Y.) each had two ground balls and two caused turnovers for the Red Flash defense. It was the fifth time Ellison has had two caused turnovers in a match, with a career-best three caused miscues against Merrimack on March 27, 2021. 

It marked the third straight year that the two teams squared off in the league opener and the fourth time in program history.
 
NEXT UP

Saint Francis continues its three-game homestand against Kent State on Wednesday. Game time is 2 p.m.