Despite a Valiant Second Half.....Flash Can’t Round Up Bison in Third Attempt

Washington, D.C. – Saint Francis’ lacrosse team hung tough with the Bison of Howard University in the later half of play, in step with a 6-5 pace in favor of the foe; yet Howard’s dominating first half performance, outscoring the Flash 12-1, kept the stickers at bay in their third encounter.

Saint Francis freshman stalwart Meg Lamarche (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas), alongside junior midfield counterpart Meghan Crosby (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) each dunked two balls in Wednesday’s matinee.  Freshman forward Valerie Vultaggio (Cranford, N.J./Cranford) etched her name into the SFU record books by tickling the twine for her first goal as a collegiate.

Lamarche finished with a season and career high four points, appending two assists to her productivity.  All five of Lamarche’s lasers found either the back of the cage or was met by the Bison’s keeper. The newcomer also scooped up three ground balls, caused three turnovers and guided SFU to winning seven of her 10 faceoffs.  In addition to Crosby’s two notches, she added a helper, three accurate shots on goal, a trifecta of ground balls and jarred loose two Bison possessions.  Vultaggio’s first ever tally came along with two precise shots and a ground ball.

Freshman Michelle Wetzel (Franklin Park, Pa./North Allegheny) played her part by shoveling three ground balls while junior Sarah Wheeler (Canton, Conn./Canton) tried her hand on the draw, churning out a .500 win percentage (7-of-14).

Freshman goalkeeper Danielle Pokusa (Cinnaminson, N.J./Cinnaminson) put up a superior .356 save percentage, stoning 15 of 41 Bison attempts. Pokusa’s 15 obstructions are the most in her young career at Saint Francis.  Pokusa also converted on five clears for the Red Flash.

“Crosby and Lamarche continue to direct this young offense, and I can only hope their aptitude for the game will infiltrate the rest of their teammates,” second year head coach Steph Marcon documented shortly after the game.  “Pokusa’s performance today was extremely encouraging, especially after she turned in her highest save total of the year.”

Saint Francis took in more faceoffs than their opponent, 14 to 10, but were outperformed in every other category.

Howard’s Candice Bouknight and Sakita Holley dominated the Flash all game, tallying seven and five goals, respectively.  The Bison tossed the first two points on the board before Lamarche broke the draught on a debonair goal right in front of the crease. Howard persistently attacked for the next 10 goals to close out the first half of play.

The second half offered a different version than its predecessor.  Although the Bison light the board with an Ashlee Brown marker, followed up by two Bouknight counters, the Flash retaliated with a combination of a one-two punch of Crosby and Lamarche.  Crosby’s two lamplighters came from Lamarche helpers, while Lamarche scored on SFU’s only free-position opportunity of the game.  Sashah Ramirez ended the Flash’s fun at 15:24 of the second, with the score reading 16-4, but Vultaggio’s answered right back on a wide-open right handed rip for the top left side.  The Bison’s final two goals closed out the Flash’s third match by a final count of 18-5.

Saint Francis (0-3) will journey down to Arnold, Md., just outside of Annapolis, to make up their initial meeting between the Longwood Lancers on Sunday, March 16 at 3:00pm at Anne Arundel Community College, a neutral site for both squads.  SFU’s formerly scheduled game against Longwood on Sunday, February 17, would have been SFU’s first battle of the year.  The Flash hold their first home game against the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference’s Niagara Purple Eagles on Monday, March 17 at DeGol Field.  SFU’s first home game, scheduled for March 9 against Niagara, was washed out due to inclement weather.