Seahawks fall to Wheaton

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. – Despite three goals from senior Jennifer Jones (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Salve Regina women's lacrosse dropped its season opener to Wheaton College, 15-13, Saturday afternoon at Gaudet Field in Middletown, R.I.

Salve Regina jumped out to an early lead behind a pair of goals from sophomore Gina Tortorici (Deer Park, N.Y.) and senior Kelly Burke (Georgetown, Mass.) in the first 2:32 of action.

Salve Regina and Wheaton went back and forth on the next four goals to give the Seahawks a 4-2 lead before the Lyons rattled off four-straight to take a 6-4 lead. Sophomore Melanie Sharick (Amherst, Mass.) scored the last two goals of the run for Wheaton.

Junior Alyssa Corvi (Barrington, R.I.) pulled the Seahawks within a goal just before the halfway mark in the opening frame. The Lyons answered right back with two more to regain the two goal lead.

Salve Regina came right back with two straight of its own, one from freshman Lisa Pulie (Trumbull, Conn.) off a pass from Jones and one from freshman Abigail Tepper (Foxboro, Mass.) on a free position shot.

Jones scored her first goal of the game with 2:17 to go in the first half to pull the Seahawks within one, 10-9, to close out the scoring before intermission. Junior goalie Josephine O'Reilly (Middletown, R.I.) made impressive save on a low shot as time was expiring to keep the Seahawks close.

The Seahawks opened the second half just as they started the game, this time with Jones scoring first before Tortorici taking a pass from Jones in front of the net for her third of the game to give Salve Regina an 11-10 lead.

Senior Amy Moreira (Bristol, R.I.) scored twice for the Lyons as they went on a four-goal run to retake the lead for good, 14-11. Jones and junior Grace Kelly (Auburn, N.Y.) sandwiched a pair of goals around junior Charlotte DeSanits' (Darien, Conn.) fifth goal of the game to close out the scoring, 15-13 in favor of the Lyons.

Jones and Tortorici both scored a hat trick for the Seahawks while Burke handed out a game-high four assists. O'Reilly made eight stops in the net for Salve Regina. Sophomore Katy Ananian (Belmont, Mass.) made seven stops in the win for the Lyons.

Salve Regina returns to action when the Seahawks host Simmons on March 5 at Gaudet Field. The opening draw is set for 6 p.m.