Syracuse, N.Y. – On what was a chilly Saturday afternoon at Ted Grant Field, the 4th- ranked Le Moyne College women’s lacrosse team defeated the 15th-ranked Mercyhurst Lakers 16-6. The Dolphins used a relentless attack combined with overpowering defense to shut down the Lakers in their home opener.

Bryanna Fazio (Watertown, N.Y./General) controlled most of the game from the draw circle, and she was able to get the scoring started on an unassisted goal with 26:04 remaining in the first half. However, senior Kristin Anderson of Mercyhurst was able to take advantage of the extra-player opportunity and she answered with a free-position goal with 23:19 remaining. As the game progressed, Anderson’s scoring was the only source of offense for the young Lakers team, and Le Moyne adjusted well to shut her down.

Multiple Le Moyne players were able to get involved on the offensive side for the Dolphins as Sophomore midfielder Nicole Delany (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) was able to score 4 goals. She was not alone as three other Dolphins recorded a hat trick to open the season. Freshman attacker Erin McMullen (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) tallied four points, and junior attacker Madison Pritchard (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee/Onondaga C.C/Canisius) registered four points too. Sophomore attacker Sidney Hall (Adams Center, N.Y./South Jefferson) also had a very successful afternoon as she tallied five points for Le Moyne to help them cruise to victory.

Defense is something that this Le Moyne women’s lacrosse team can always rely on. It all starts with Hannah George (Johnson City, N.Y./Maine-Endwell) who collected her 20th victory in 22 games started as a goalie. George finished the game with eight saves, five of them came in the first half. Le Moyne made adjustments throughout the game that really paid off.

“It is going to be crucial to our success to get out and attack early,” head coach Kathy Taylor said to Mike Glennon and I as we sat down with her and her staff. “We have so much speed up and down this roster that we plan on exploiting it for all it’s worth to get us to where we want to go.”

With the 90-second shot-clock implemented into the game this season, Le Moyne can really push the offense. The Dolphins would only need 20-30 seconds to score some of their goals. Their defense has just as much speed, which takes some of the pressure off of Hannah George. If a defender gets beat someone from Le Moyne would step up to help their teammate. They were able to put on a clinic on Saturday afternoon as they shut Mercyhurst down for most of the game.

Le Moyne will open up their NE-10 play this Saturday as they host Assumption College at 12:00 p.m. on Ted Grant Field.