DeMaio, Haney Power Women's Lacrosse Past WVWC in Home Victory

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Women's Lacrosse team breezed past West Virginia Wesleyan 23-1 in their MEC opener at home on Wednesday night.
 
Within the first couple minutes of the opening period, each team traded possessions, with WVWC winning the first draw control, turning the ball over that led to an FSU shot that was saved, then sophomore Isabelle Kelly giving Frostburg the ball back on a caused turnover. Quickly following, senior Camden DeMaio found graduate Maura O'Neill for a slice into the back of the net to open the scoring. DeMaio then turned from provider to scorer, earning her first of the day on an assist from junior Julia Badolato. FSU peppered the Wesleyan goal with several shots, forcing three saves before DeMaio picked up another dime to sophomore Neila Haney, who in turn fed graudate Lilly Stephens for a 4-0 lead.
 
Junior Megan Keller earned her second CT of the day with seven minutes left, then a WVWC green card gave the opportunity for sophomore Sydney Stone to find a wide open Badolato for a five-goal lead. Frostburg ramped up their attack over the next three minutes, powering another five past Wesleyan to double their lead at 10-0 with two and a half on the clock. DeMaio began the run on goal off a pass from Badolato, followed by back-to-back solo scores from junior Kerri Hayes and Haney, with the latter adding another on a DeMaio assist, then senior Anna Kearney polished off the run with O'Neill the provider. With 30 seconds left to go on the quarter, DeMaio ended the frame with a score from O'Neill to go up 11-0 after one.
 
The FSU defense blocked WVWC's first shot attempt of the second, with junior Brittyn Leonard capitalizing at the other end after receiving a pass from Kearney. Haney then turned in a heads-up play, intercepting a pass from Wesleyan's keeper and firing into an open net, then two minutes later passed to Leonard for a 14-0 lead. Freshman Maya Mosslih earned herself a pair of caused turnovers in the final five minutes of the period, with the latter resulting in Leonard assisting freshman Gianna Leonardi for her first goal of the game and a 15-0 halftime advantage.
 
Both teams were plagued by turnovers and cards through the first five minutes of the third quarter, as Frostburg got a number of shots away but couldn't capitalize until DeMaio found Stephens for their 16^th of the contest. With just over seven remaining on the clock, Hayes caused a turnover which led to junior Natalie Crawford scoring her first goal of the season, followed by her first assist of the year to Kearney and an 18-0 score. Another Hayes CT led to Stone opening her account on the year with Kearney assisting, ending the frame up 19-0.
 
WVWC opened the fourth with a free position opportunity but couldn't take advantage after junior Grace Dickey made the save. A Wesleyan yellow card helped pave the way for three FSU goals in three minutes, as Leonard and junior Emily Lamoreaux tacked on man-up scores, then O'Neill fed sophomore Daniella Boss to score for the first time in the season up 22-0. In yet another first, Boss passed to freshman Caylee Markle for her first collegiate goal, which ended up being the final Frostburg goal scored. With just under two minutes remaining, Wesleyan was able to break up the shutout bid with a free position goal for the 23-1 final.
 
Haney led all scorers with four on the night to go with two assists, while DeMaio had a game-high seven points on three goals and four assists. Stephens, Leonard, and Kearney all added multiple tallies, while Kelly led the defense with three caused turnovers and a pair of groundballs.
 
With the win, Frostburg improves to 5-5 on the year, while WVWC falls to 4-6. FSU returns to the field on Thursday, April 4 for a rematch of last season's MEC Championship game against Notre Dame (Ohio) at 3 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.