Moon Township, Pa. ? Feb. 27, 2009 ? The Robert Morris University women's lacrosse team, led by fifth-year head coach Katy Phillips, prevailed over the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, 15-12, on Friday afternoon in for its first win of the season at Joe Walton Stadium. The game was tied seven different times during the second half, but four Colonial goals in the last 15 minutes of action secured the win for RMU.
Last week's NEC Rookie of the Week Courtney Sicinski (Downington, Pa. / Downington West) led the way for the Colonials with five goals and added one assist for a six point game. Sophomore Ashley Trombetta (Sykesville, Md. / Century) and senior Kara Blakeley (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine-Richland) each contributed a hat trick in the win, while also dishing out one and two assists, respectively. Senior Jillian Howley (East Northport, N.Y. / Northport) also notched a multiple-goal game with two.
The Bonnies were led by Molly Hastrich who also tallied a five-goal one-assist game. Samantha Cavaliaro, Keri Vito and Emily Kane all netted a pair of goals in the loss.
St. Bonaventure got the first strike of action just three minutes into action when Samantha Cavallaro found the net off an assist from Christine Hanley. However, Robert Morris responded with two free position goals by Trombetta and Howley and back-to-back goals by Sicinski to take the 4-1 lead.
With 10:24 remaining on the clock, Kane found her way around junior RMU goalie Erica Webb (Arnold, Md. / Broadneck) to cut into the Colonial lead. Blakely netted her first goal of the game less than a minute later, but the Bonnies captured two more goals to close in the Colonial lead, 5-4, at the end of the half.
For the majority of the second half the two teams traded goals, which led to seven ties and four lead changes. St. Bonaventure scored the first two goals within three minutes of the final half to take the 6-5 lead, but Trombetta scored two consecutive goals to steal the lead back 7-6.
This trend continued until Robert Morris pulled away with 12:35 remaining in the half. Sicinski registered her final goal of the day, which was followed by two more Colonial goals, giving them their largest lead of the second stanza at 14-11.
The Bonnies managed to find the net one more time before the game was over, but the Colonials played a game of keep away to prevent them from closing in on the lead. Robert Morris scored once more before the end of the half to finish the game with a 15-12 decision.
Webb tallied 13 saves in the victory, while St. Bonaventure's goalie duo of Tori Waheibi and Victori Morgan recorded a combined nine saves. Robert Morris finished the game with 18 draw controls to St. Bonaventure's 10 and was two-for-five on free-position shots, while the Bonnies were one-of-four.
The Colonials head to Lewisburg, Pa. on Sunday to take on Bucknell at 1:00 p.m. The Colonials are 1-1 against Bucknell in the all-time series.
