Syracuse, N.Y. – Sophomore attacker Rebekah Elmer (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee) tied her season-high with four goals but the Le Moyne College women's lacrosse team dropped its season finale to UAlbany, 12-10, in non-conference action at the Thomas J. Niland Athletic Complex Saturday afternoon. The Dolphins wrapped up the 2009 campaign with a 5-12 record.
Elmer's final goal of the game with 26 seconds to play pulled Le Moyne within a goal at 11-10. The Dolphins took the ensuing draw control but UAlbany's defense forced a Le Moyne turnover with 11 seconds left. Jodi Battaglia raced down the field and netted her fourth score of the game with five seconds on the clock to produce the game's 12-10 final score.
The Dolphins scored the game's first goal just over five minutes in to take their only lead of the contest. Sophomore midfielder Mia Valletta (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) took a pass from senior midfielder Maura Kenville (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) and turned it into her 30th goal of the season. Le Moyne's defensive unit and freshman goalkeeper Kelly Fucillo (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) kept the Great Danes off of the scoreboard for the first 12 minutes of the game. But UAlbany erupted for three straight goals, including a pair of quick strikes a minute apart, to grab a lead that it would not relinquish.
After the Great Danes pushed their lead to 3-1, sophomore attacker Michelle Phillips (Johnson City, N.Y./Maine Endwell) fed Kenville and the senior made it a one-goal game with 8:46 remaining in the first half. Again, UAlbany responded with a three-goal spurt to seize its largest lead of the game, at 6-2. Phillips recorded an unassisted tally, her first of three goals on the afternoon, with 23 seconds left in the first half to force a 6-3 halftime deficit.
Le Moyne scored two goals over the first six minutes of the second half on free-position shots by Phillips and classmate Nerissa Barzee (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Baldwinsville). The Dolphins pulled within a goal on five separate occasions over the final 30 minutes but couldn't manage to knot the score. Both teams traded the game's final 11 goals after UAlbany pushed ahead 7-5 with 23:08 to play. Elmer scored four of the team's final five goals on the afternoon over the final 18 minutes of the game, including the last three Dolphin scores. Phillips accounted for Le Moyne's other goal down the stretch.
UAlbany's offense was led by Battaglia's four goals. Mel Rorie netted three goals and Christine Grueniger chipped in with a pair for the Great Danes. Goalkeeper Katie Neer stopped seven shots between the pipes in the win.
Elmer finished with four goals in a game for the third time this season and Phillips turned in her second three-goal game of the campaign. Kenville finished with a goal and an assist; Valletta and Barzee netted one goal each; and Phillips and senior midfielder McKenzie Gray (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Baldwinsville) each picked up an assist.
Fucillo finished with six saves on the afternoon to give her 200 for the season. It's the second-most for Le Moyne all-time behind 222 stops from Deirdre Beers during the 1996 season. The freshman played every minute of Le Moyne's 1,038 minutes on the season. Only Samantha Falcone, in Le Moyne's postseason runs in 2006 and 2007, accumulated more minutes in a season.
Prior to Saturday afternoon's game, Le Moyne recognized its two-member senior class of Gray and Kenville. Gray was the team's season leader in assists (26) while Kenville turned in career-highs in goals (10) and assists (4) in a season.
