Release courtesy of Sports Information Intern, Vin Rinella

GRANVILLE, OHIO – The University of Scranton women's lacrosse team (17-3) sprung to an early thirteen goal lead in the first half and never looked back, securing an 18-6 victory against Lake Forest College (14-4) in the first round of the NCAA DIII Tournament at Kienzle-Hylbert Stadium in Granville, Ohio.

Nine different Royals scored a goal in the contest as the Royals rolled to their fifth straight win and their first NCAA Tournament win since 2004 when they defeated Western New England. 

The Royals got off to a fast start as senior Erin Reich (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) scored the first goal of the game, finding the back of the net just two minutes into the game. At the 12:40 mark, freshman Jillian Lopez (Huntington, N.Y./St. Anthony's) scored her first goal of the game and then struck again just twelve seconds later to put Scranton up 3-0.

Junior attacker Grace Lane (Long Beach, N.Y./Scared Heart Academy) followed suit for the Royals, scoring two times in the quarter, while Reich and Lopez added another goal apiece in the first. Sophomore Jessica McCabe (Pearl River, N.Y./Nanuet) converted on a feed from sophomore Mia Dinnocenzio (New Windsor, N.Y./Cornwall Central) with 8:30 left to go in the quarter. Senior Kayleigh Stalter (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) added Scranton's ninth goal of the first with just seconds left to go in the quarter as the Royals took a 9-0 advantage into the second.

Scranton continued their early dominance into the second quarter, as Reich and Lopez both scored unassisted goals early to complete their hat tricks for the game, and goals from Stalter and junior Lauren Corrado (Oreland, Pa/Springfield Twp) completed a four goal second quarter as the Royals took a commanding 13-0 lead into halftime.

Despite a late rally from the Foresters who scored six times in the second half, the Royals' big first half combined with five second half goals were enough for Scranton to close the door and win the game by a score of 18-6.

Senior Courtney Delehanty (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield) led the team with five total points on two goals and three assists and Lopez and Reich led the team with three goals each. Senior Grace Dabulas (Scotch Plains, N.J./Westfield) led the team with five ground balls while causing one turnover and junior goalie Lauren Boldis (Merrick, N.Y./Sanford H. Calhoun) made one save and earned the win.

The University of Scranton's women's lacrosse team is back in action Sunday against Dennison University (14-4) in a second-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament, with action set to begin at 2:00 p.m. at Kienzle-Hylbert Stadium in Granville, Ohio.

--ROYALS--

--ROYALS--