Women’s Lacrosse wins in blowout

  There are just some games where you don't need to play the second half. The University at Albany women's lacrosse team is glad they were able to bring the idea to mind.

   On Saturday, the team took on the Niagara Purple Eagles (0-1) at John Fallon Field in what was the definition of a laugher, winning by a score of 24-2. The Danes' Melanie Sosnowski was a force, scoring a career-high eight goals to pace the team from the opening minutes, scoring early and often to take home the victory.

 The scoring was fast and furious in the opening half, with the Danes (1-1) scoring at a clip of nearly a goal per minute. Taylor Frink opened the scoring just 52 seconds into the affair, converting on an opportunity to snake her way through the middle of the field to give the Danes the early lead. Kayla Best then scored right off the faceoff to make it 2-0 just 19 seconds later.

   Sosnowski then took over, scoring the Danes' next five consecutive goals while showing a remarkable ability to get through the stagnant Niagara defense, which was overmatched by the Danes' smothering pressure all day.

   The Purple Eagles, playing in their first game after their first four got postponed due to weather, finally got on the board 6:54 into the game when Francesa Pollastro converted off an assist from Emily Chayka. However that was all they would get until the second half.

   The Danes would proceed to score 11 more goals to close out the half with an 18-1 lead, making the second half all but a formality. UAlbany coach Lindsey Hart wanted to make sure that her team didn't get complacent.

   "I think those are sometimes some of the most frustrating games to play, just because we talk a lot about consistency on our team and being disciplined and playing smart," Hart said. "I think sometimes when you're up by goals or down by goals you start to lose that and that's what we talked to them about at halftime."

   Albany was unstoppable all day long, out-shooting Niagara 43 to 15, while also forcing 21 turnovers compared to just nine for the Danes.

   "I think [the win] just helps our confidence," Sosnowski said. "It raises our confidence knowing we played really well. We played together as a team. We connected with each other and this will just help us in games in the future."

   Starting goalie Ashley Ross was solid all day in her limited work, making saves when forced to despite them being few and far between. Hart was able to take Ross out and put backup Kim Santorv in to get some playing time, an opportunity that is not always available.

   In the second half, the onslaught continued with the Danes continuing their pressure, scoring three more goals in the opening ten minutes to extend the lead even further before Brianna Day closed out the scoring with 1:40 left to play in the game, sending the Danes home with a rousing victory.

   "We try to keep them level-headed about it and keep them focused on putting ourselves in a position to win the America East," Hart said. "We'll go back and we'll look at the film and we'll celebrate some of the good things we did but as coaches we tend to look at the things we needed to do better and we'll just break down those things."

   UAlbany will next play against  Siena on Friday in another non-conference matchup. The Great Danes beat the Saints last season, 11-10.