Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Freshman goalkeeper Kaitlyn Burchill (Bridgewater, Mass.) made a career-high 14 saves on Thursday evening, including eight in the second half, helping to preserve at 14-8 win for UMass Dartmouth women's lacrosse over Salem State at Cressy Field.
The Corsairs have now won three-straight games heading into Little East Conference play, and have doubled last season's win total at 4-2. Senior Colleen Kane (Arlington, Mass.) again led the UMass Dartmouth offensive attack with five goals, while sophomores Julia DiPillo (Medway, Mass.) and Raquel Riley (Wakefield, Mass.) each registered career-highs in goals with four and three, respectively.
Salem State's Courtney Smith (Peabody, Mass.) collected a team-high four goals, and senior Erin Riley (Wakefield, Mass.) contributed two.
The Corsairs dominated the first 20 minutes of play, building an 8-2 lead on the hot sticks of Kane and DiPillo. After UMass Dartmouth scored the first two goals, Erin Riley put the Vikings on the board with a free position shot before Kane buried the next two scores.
Smith registered her first goal of the night at 12:41, but the Corsairs would pot four-straight goals over less than four minutes. Kane and Raquel Riley upped the lead within forty seconds of each other, followed by back-to-back DiPillo scores. The Vikings would close the half on a high note, as Smith put in two more to trail only 8-4 the break.
Sophomore Leah Douty (Framingham, Mass.) led off the scoring of the second half on classmate Erin Kish's (Littleton, Mass.) second assist of the night, but Smith tallied her fourth straight goal for Salem State after four scoreless minutes. Erin Riley then beat Burchill six minutes later, cutting the Viking deficit to only three.
UMass Dartmouth would then turn up the heat, capitalizing on multiple Burchill saves in the last ten minutes and registering five of the last seven goals. DiPillo broke Salem's scoring streak at 19:12, with Raquel Riley registering two and Kane another goal in the next three minutes. Junior Catrina Longo (Billerica, Mass.) then capped the scoring at 27:02.
Douty and junior Kathryn Gibb (Georgetown, Mass.) each caused two turnovers on the evening to lead the UMass Dartmouth defense. Salem State goalkeeper Jenn Toussaint (Reading, Mass.) turned aside nine shots on the contest.
The Corsairs will make the trek to Plymouth State on Saturday at 1 p.m. to being league play. The Vikings also open conference play on Saturday, traveling to Framingham State for a 10 a.m. start.
