PONTE VEDRA, Fla. (February 14, 2009) - Freshman attacker Mallory
Surpless led the Rollins women's lacrosse team with seven goals
and one assist as the Tars defeated Pfeiffer University with a
final score 19-14 on Saturday afternoon at Ponte Vedra High
School. The Tars open up their 2009 slate with a record of 1-0,
while the Falcons kick off their official season with an overall
mark of 0-1.
Surpless led the way as eight different players found the back
of the cage to help the Tars tally 19 goals and 24 overall points
on the day. Behind Surpless, junior midfielder Marissa
Giannerini scored three in her Rollins lacrosse debut, while
sophomore attacker Katy
Tyszko started off her second season with the Tars notching two
goals and one assist.
Freshmen Bizzie
Durell and Steph
Wiedenhofer each placed the ball between the pipes twice to
kick off their collegiate careers, while Liz
Connelly, Cat
Kelley, and Tori
Snow grabbed a goal of their own.
Connelly, one of the Tars' returning offensive powerhouses from
last season, tabbed two assists on the way to three points overall
and silenced the Falcons in the midfield as she snatched eight draw
controls and caused four turnovers. Kelley added an assist to her
scoring total to help the Tars end their first contest on a high
note.
Defensively, goalie Lisa
Weber was solid in cage as she stopped 11 shots as she faced 32
shots and 25 shots on goal for the afternoon.
Leading the Falcons in their opening game were Sarah Hebberd and
Kelly McConnell, who each placed the ball between the pipes four
times.
The first half saw plenty of back and forth action as Pfeiffer
jumped out to a 1-0 lead minutes into the contest. The Tars
quickly answered back as they notched two quick goals to pull ahead
with a score of 2-1, but the Falcons slipped two free position
shots past the Tars defense to pull out to their own one point lead
with a 3-2 count on the board with 12:54 remaining in the first
half.
Wiedenhofer put the third equalizing goal up for the Tars with
8:41 to go, but a Falcon retaliation goal put them in a one-point
lead again before Surpless could tally the fourth equalizer with
5:55 to go in first half action.
Pfeiffer notched two unanswered points before both teams would
exchange blows once again, with the Falcons pulling out to an
uncomfortable two-point lead at the half with a tally of 8-6.
The Falcons came out of the break to score the first goal, but
the Tars were out to win it as they notched six unanswered goals of
their own to pull ahead 12-9. Two quick goals from Pfeiffer
brought the difference to within one, but Rollins again went on a
scoring spree as they tabbed three more goals to pull ahead 15-11
with just under ten minutes remaining.
The Tars went on to out-score the Falcons 4-3 in the final nine
minutes of the game on their way to a victorious 19-14 win that was
proved to be a moral victory as well as the second-year program
begins its season on a high note. The Tars out-shot their opponent
44-32 and won the count in draw controls 19-15.
The Tars will be back in action on Wednesday, February 18 then
they take on the Generals of Washington and Lee University in a
7:00 p.m. scrimmage on their home field. For more information,
please visit www.RollinsSports.com.
