April 5, 2007

Final Stats

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The St. Bonaventure lacrosse team controlled play in the first half and cruised to a 16-11 win over La Salle in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams on Thursday afternoon at McCarthy Stadium.

The Bonnies (3-4, 1-0) took control from the start as they scored the first four goals of the game en route to taking a 10-3 lead at the half. The Brown and White owned a 21-6 edge in shots in the first half.

"Today was a great team effort on both ends of the field," said head coach Tony Zostant. "We were very solid defensively and were able to force a lot of turnovers that led to a lot of scoring chances."

The Bona defense forced 13 first half turnovers and 23 for the game. St. Bonaventure has outscored its last two opponents 21-4 in the first half.

Junior Brenna Houghton and sophomore Katelyn Faas each surpassed the 100-point plateau for their careers with five points and four points, respectively. Houghton finished with five points on three goals and two assists giving her 102 points for her career. Faas brought her career point total to 101 with four goals.

Goals by juniors Stephanie Jordan, Houghton and Kimberly Ross, and sophomore Keri Vito in the first 7:06 gave St. Bonaventure a quick 4-0 lead. Freshman Patty Nessle passed out an assist on two of the goals, while Houghton and Ross assisted on the other goals.

The Explorers climbed to within 6-3 with 11:18 left, but another 4-0 Bona run to close the half made it a seven-point game, 10-3, at the break. Faas tallied the first goals followed by goals from freshman Lynsey Wagner, Vito and Ross.

St. Bonaventure expanded its run to seven-straight with three goals in a row to open the final frame, expanding its lead to 10, at 13-3. Faas notched her 100th career point on her third goal of the game for the first score. Nessle converted on a free position shot, while Jordan took a feed from Houghton and found the back of the La Salle net.

The Explorers (4-5, 0-1) responded nicely by scoring eight of the games final 11 goals, but couldn't overcome the large deficit.

Ross finished with a team-high six points on a career-high four assists and two goals. St. Bonaventure also got a season-high four points from Nessle and a career-best three points from Vito.

Junior Eboni Preston made a season-high 12 saves in cage to earn the win.

St. Bonaventure will return to action on Easter Sunday with an A-10 tilt against Saint Joseph's at 11 a.m.