PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Mount Ida women's lacrosse team fell to the Wildcats of Johnson and Wales University on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 21-4.
The Mustangs now sit at 2-9 and 1-3 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play while the Wildcats stand in third place in the league at 6-5 overall and 3-1 in the conference.
Mount Ida was led by four different scorers in the game in which they were only able to muster one goal in the opening half of play. Samantha Basler (Plymouth, Mass.), Hayley Napier (Fairhaven, Mass.), Alyssa Kelly (Lee, Mass.) and Nicole Pavao (Peabody, Mass.) all tickled the twine while Pavao also picked up a helper.
Basler opened the scoring for Ida in the first half in which the Wildcats opened the game scoring seven straight times before Basler's tally for the 7-1 lead. JWU tacked on four more markers before the break over the course of the last 13:17 to take the commanding 11-1 lead.
Mount Ida Leaders:
Sam Basler - 1 Goal
Hayley Napier - 1 Goal
Alyssa Kelly - 1 Goal
Nicole Pavao - 1 Goal, 1 Assist
JWU Leaders:
Lydia Knapp: 6 Goals, 2 Assists
Marissa Hart: 2 Goals, 1 Assist
Kayla Smith: 3 Goals, 3 Assists
JWU junior Lydia Knapp (Glens Falls, NY) set the tone early as she scored just 35 seconds into the game. Knapp scored three more times in the first half and twice in the second frame to tie her season-high of six goals. The junior also assisted on a pair of goals to take over the GNAC lead with 53 points.
Knapp picked five ground balls and six draw controls while Kelly grabbed four ground balls and draw controls for the Mustangs. Johnson & Wales had a 20-6 advantage for draw controls and 21-18 margin for ground balls.
Mount Ida scored three times within the first seven minutes of the second half, but Pavao's goal at the 22:25 mark was the last time the Mustangs found the back of the net. Johnson & Wales goalkeeper Cristal Benton (Albany, NY) made seven saves to get the victory while Jackie Tarsook (Derry, N.H.) took the loss for the visitors.
The Wildcats finished the game on a 9-0 run with Kayla Smith (Eastham, Mass.) and Alexandra Anton (Dix Hills, NY) each scoring a pair of goals during that stretch. Eleven different Wildcats scored with five players tallying two or more. Smith had three goals and three assists for a season-high six points.
The Mustangs are back in action next Tuesday when they return home to face off against Rivier with game time set for 5:30 PM. Johnson & Wales will try to run its winning streak to four games when it takes on Norwich at 4 PM on Wednesday in Providence.