Seahawks glide to 17-3 win over Wildcats

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. – The Salve Regina University women's lacrosse team scored the opening 14 goals of the match before gliding to a 17-3 victory over Wheelock on Saturday afternoon at Gaudet Field. The Seahawks are off to their best start in program history, moving to 5-1 overall on the season, while the Wildcats fall to 0-4 with the loss.

The Seahawks received goals from nine different players in the game, and were led by a game-high six points on three goals and three assists from senior Sarah Livingston (Westford, Mass.).  Junior Kelly Burke (Georgetown, Mass.) and freshman Gina Tortorici (Deer Park, N.Y.) each had four points on two goals and a pair of assists, while Tortorici also led all players five draw controls on the afternoon. Junior Jennifer Jones (Basking Ridge, N.J.) added three goals for the Seahawks, while sophomore Grace Kelly (Auburn, N.Y.) had a goal and two helpers in the victory. Sophomore Josie O'Reilly (Middletown, R.I.) earned the victory in net for Salve Regina, improving to 5-1 on the season.

The Wildcats were paced by sophomore Katie Gavin (Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass.) who had a team-high two goals and four draw controls in the loss, while freshman Valerie Ferrante (Milford, Mass.) also added a goal for Wheelock.

The Seahawks came out of the gates with 14 consecutive goals, including 12 scores within the opening 12:21 of play. Jones led the Seahawks with three goals during the outburst, while Livingston added four points on two goals and a pair of helpers. Sophomore Molly Shine (Southborough, Mass.) had a free position goal during the run, while also assisting on one of Burke's two goals in the half.

The Wildcats got on the board with 2:17 remaining in the opening half on an unassisted marker by Ferrante to send the two clubs into the break with the Seahawks holding a 14-1 advantage.

Salve Regina struck first in the second half, as sophomore Cory Conley (Norwell, Mass.) scored her first goal of the season off a feed from Livingston to put SRU on top, 15-1.

Gavin answered for the Wildcats with the first of her two goals on the day, scoring an unassisted tally with 19:39 left to play in the second half.

After Salve Regina received a pair of goals from Livingston and Shine, the Wildcats completed the scoring with an unassisted goal from Gavin, making the final score 17-3 in favor of the Seahawks.

Both teams return to action on the road Tuesday, with the Wildcats facing Becker at 3:30 p.m. and the Seahawks traveling to battle Wheaton (Mass.) at 4 p.m.