Misenheimer, N.C. – Junior Brittany Brigandi (Syracuse, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy/UMass) scored a career-high six goals to lead the fifth-ranked Le Moyne College women's lacrosse team to a 14-9 win over Pfeiffer on Saturday afternoon at N.E. Lefko Field.
The two teams traded goals over the opening seven minutes of the match. Brigandi netted the game's first goal at the 26:29 mark. Shannon Bonnel answered back for the Falcons 1:13 later on a free-position shot. Sophomore Gabrielle Kamide (Deferiet, N.Y./Carthage) regained the lead for the Dolphins 45 seconds later with an unassisted goal. Jessica Moulton evened the score at two apiece off a pass from Natalie Marvin at the 23:01 mark.
Pfeiffer followed with three goals in a span of five minutes and eight seconds for a 5-2 lead. Bonnel scored the first of the span with 21:28 left on a free-position shot. Moulton added her second goal 37 seconds later off a feed from Alex Cook. Bonnel finished off her hat trick with an unassisted tally at the 16:22 mark.
The Dolphins then scored three times in a span of 33 seconds to even the score at five. Brigandi scored off a free-position shot at the 12:58 mark and pulled the Dolphins within one with another free-position goal with 12:33 remaining. Senior Michelle Phillips (Johnson City, N.Y./Maine-Endwell) tied the score eight seconds later with an unassisted goal.
Brigandi scored three times in the final 4:35 of the half to give the Dolphins an 8-5 lead at the half. Her first goal of the stretch came off a pass from senior Rebekah Elmer (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee), the second was unassisted at the 3:58 mark and the closed out the scoring in the half with a free-position goal with 1:01 left.
Le Moyne continued its run of eight straight goals with a pair over the opening 9:09 of the second half. Elmer opened the scoring in the stanza at the 23:48 mark with an unassisted tally, while adding the second off a feed from sophomore Brenna Bauer (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton).
Bonnel snapped the streak with an unassisted goal with 18:46 remaining in the game as the teams split the game's next four goals. Elmer regained the five-goal lead for the Dolphins off a free-position shot with just over 15 minutes remaining. Sarah Hebberd answered back off a pass from Marvin to make the score 11-7. Senior Mia Valletta (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) then scored an unassisted goal for the Dolphins with 10:48 left.
The Falcons tallied back-to-back goals to pull within 12-9, but could not get any closer. Hebberd netted her second goal in less than four minutes for the first of the two goals, while Bonnel added her fifth of the day with 8:14 left.
Phillips answered back 17 seconds later with an unassisted goal to put the game away. She then capped the game's scoring with another unassisted tally at the 6:59 mark.
Junior goalkeeper Kelly Fucillo (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) made three saves in the contest for her fourth straight win. Kaitlin Booth made nine saves in suffering the loss for the Falcons. Brigandi's six goals in the first half mark the most by a Dolphin in a single half since Liz Hewitt '06 scored six goals in the second half of a 25-12 win over Niagara on April 24, 2005.
Le Moyne (4-0), which has held four straight opponents to single-digit goals for the first time since limiting eight straight opponents under 10 goals in the 2008 season, returns to the field on Wednesday, March 23 against two-time defending national champion Adelphi at 3:00 p.m.
