Box Score NEWPORT, R.I. – It may not have been an opening-day win, but it could have been. Something that could not have been said about the 2019 opener.
In a women's lacrosse match which was not decided until the final two minutes, Eastern led twice in the first half by a goal, then narrowed a four-goal deficit with three unanswered goals in the final ten minutes of the game before dropping a 14-11 non-conference decision to Salve Regina University in the opener for both teams Tuesday afternoon at Toppa Field.
It marked the sixth time in the nine-game series that the match was decided by three or less goal, with the Warriors losing for the second straight season by three goals after edging the Seahawks, 9-8, at Salve in 2014.
Fortified this year by the return of six fulltime starters – something that also could not have been said a year ago – and getting strong play from four starting newcomers, the Warriors outshot the hosts by 12, won nearly half of the draws contested, turned the ball over only 15 times (which played a large role in clearing all but one attempt) and won the ground ball battle by five.
Salve scored five of the first six goals of the second half and eventually took a four-goal, 11-7 lead into the final 15 minutes before Eastern answered with three unanswered goals in four short minutes to make it a one-goal game difference (for the seventh time in the match) with less than three minutes left.
Needing possession for a chance to tie the game, Eastern failed to win the ensuing draw and all-conference senior attack Maddie Villareal made them pay with her second goal of the match with just under two minutes left.
All-conference senior Tristan Kijak (Windsor) gave Eastern life by claiming her 11th draw on the next faceoff and Eastern had two shots on net – the first by Kijak, which sailed wide, and the second by freshman Mackenzie Shrewsbury (Sprague), which was stopped by junior goalie Christine Myers.
Protecting its two-goal margin, Salve successfully cleared its final possession and sophomore Stephanie Szelest connected on her only free-position attempt of the game with 35 seconds left to close out the scoring.
Kijak paced Eastern in most every category, leading it in goals (3), draws (11), ground balls (4), and caused turnovers (4). Junior Sydney Hogan (Northford) added two goals and two assists. Shrewsbury, first-year sophomore Cassie Bennett (Milford) and freshman Ally Kehlebach (Old Saybrook) were all credited with their first career goals.
The game was likely lost at the free-position mark, where Eastern could have taken control of the game in the first half if not for missing eight of nine free-position attempts. Eastern was awarded more than twice as many free-position shots in the game but only converted two more (5) than Salve.
Making her first career start (eighth appearance), senior Sarah Farag (Holmdel, NJ) made nine saves in her first career decision, two of them on free-position attempts. Myers needed 16 saves to record the win.
Eastern visits Curry College Tuesday at 4 p.m. in a non-conference match. The Colonels are among six new non-conference teams on this year's schedule. The meeting will be only the second between the programs, Eastern taking a 20-4 verdict at home in the first round of the 2003 ECAC New England Tournament. Like Salve, Curry is a member of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC). The Colonels were 10-8 overall a year ago, losing in the opening round of the CCC tournament.
