ANNAPOLIS, Md. ? Despite a rocky start for the Presbyterian College women's lacrosse team against Navy on Friday evening, the Blue Hose were able to score four second-half goals in their season opener. PC eventually succumbed to the Midshipmen, 21-4, at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Junior midfielder Jenna Handshoe (Greenville, S.C./J.L. Mann H.S.) led PC's offense with two goals while junior co-captain Brittni Dulaney (Rome, Ga./Darlington School) added two assists.
Navy dominated the first half, outshooting PC 27-5 and racing to a 14-0 lead at halftime. The Blue Hose regrouped and came out firing in the second half. Freshman defender Erin Gainey (Greenville, S.C./Wade Hampton H.S.) grabbed a ground ball after her shot was blocked by Midshipmen goalkeeper Elaina Ponchione and passed it off to junior Jordan Newberry (Atlanta, Ga./North Springs H.S.) who drilled a second shot on goal in less than a minute. Ponchione stopped PC's efforts for a second time, keeping the Blue Hose scoreless three minutes into the second half.
Freshman Marie-Lisette Dimitrew (Greenville, S.C./Eastside H.S.) was the first to get past Ponchione to put PC on the board with 13:57 remaining in the game. Dimitrew netted her first collegiate goal off an assist by Dulaney to make it 19-1. Two minutes later, she scooped up a ground ball and began a play that resulted in a second goal for the Blue Hose, scored by Handshoe.
Navy, who hadn't registered a shot in over seven minutes, registered its 20th goal at the 10-minute mark, but PC did not give up. Handshoe found the back of the net for the second time of the evening off a dish by Dulaney. Newberry scored PC's second back-to-back goal to make it 20-4 with under two minutes to play. The Midshipmen punctuated the game with a final score in the final 20 seconds of action to earn a 17 point victory.
Freshman Susan England (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman H.S.) played all 60 minutes in goal for PC, making 12 saves while facing 33 shots by the Midshipmen. After England faced a barrage of 27 shots in the first half and making nine saves, the PC defense stepped up and held Navy to 11 second-half shots. Ponchione recorded eight saves on the evening.
Dimitrew and freshman Laura Meade (Acworth, Ga./Harrison H.S.) each snatched two ground balls while Handshoe led the Blue Hose with three draw controls.
PC hosts its first home game at Old Bailey Stadium on Sunday afternoon when Cincinnati visits for a 1 p.m. game.
