Pioneers Close Homestand Against Robert Morris
3/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
March 24, 2007
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Sacred Heart Pioneers (2-3, 1-0 NEC) vs. Robert Morris Colonials (3-5, 0-0 NEC)
Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 12:00 pm - Fairfield, Connecticut / Campus Field (4,000)
Pioneers Close Homestand Against Robert Morris... The Pioneer women's lacrosse team is looking to make it two-straight wins to open Northeast Conference play when they play host to Robert Morris on Sunday afternoon. SHU got the NEC slate started on Friday with a 13-7 win over Long Island where they outshot the Blackbirds 32-16 while winning 15 draws. Senior Brianna Bubeck led the Pioneer charge with four goals and an assist to break the 100 point mark for her career. The Colonials open their league schedule on Sunday after falling at St. Joseph's, 10-6, on Friday.
The Series... SHU leads the all-time series, 2-0. The Pioneers traveled out to Robert Morris last season and posted an 11-8 win. Sacred Heart took the first-ever meeting, 15-2, at home in 2005, the Colonials first year of competition as a program.
Up Next... After playing their first six games of 2007 at home, Sacred Heart takes to the road for the next three starting Tuesday, March 27th at Lafayette. The Pioneers return to conference play next weekend at Monmouth and Mount St. Mary's.
Last Meeting with RMU... The Sacred Heart women's lacrosse team led 9-3 through 36 minutes of action but fought off a second half charge by Robert Morris to come away with an 11-8 win over the Colonials on April 13th last season. The Pioneers got on top early, using goals by Heather Gureckis and Brianna Bubeck to open a 2-0 lead after eight minutes of action and used a late three-goal spurt to grab control. Freshmen Mary Montesarchio and Amanda Williams and Gureckis fueled the run with three unassisted markers. Jennifer Collins ended the run with an unassisted goal of her own, but the two teams traded goals the rest of the half to send the Pioneers into the break up 7-3. SHU kept it rolling to start the second half as senior Emily Tully and Bubeck found the back of the net to give SHU its biggest lead, 9-3, at 35:49. From there, the Robert Morris offense caught fire and the Colonials outscored SHU 5-1 over the next 18 minutes to pull within 10-8. SHU's Gureckis gave the Pioneers a brief lift with a marker but Robert Morris quickly ran off three-straight to make it a game down the stretch. Williams tacked on the last Pioneer goals and SHU ran out the last 2:48 to seal the win. Gureckis and Williams each scored three times while Bubeck netted two and added an assist to her scoring column. Robert Morris got three goals apiece from Collins and Jennifer Howley.
Last Time Out... Sacred Heart senior Brianna Bubeck scored four goals with an assist to lead the Pioneers to a 13-7 win over visiting Long Island University in the Northeast Conference opener for both teams. The Pioneers wasted little time in cracking the scoring column as junior Katie Salamone took the opening draw control and raced in for her first of three goals on the day just 11 seconds into play. The two teams traded goals in the opening 10 minutes before Bubeck started off a 5-1 Pioneer run over the next 15 minutes to give SHU a 7-3 lead. The Blackbirds stole some of the momentum back just before half, as Jackie McCormick scored off a feed from Amy Rizzo with just 22 seconds left to send the game into the break, 7-4 SHU. Sacred Heart increased their lead to 9-4 by the 21 minute mark on scores by Salamone and freshman Carissa Hauser. and put the game away with a 3-0 run over a three and a half minute stretch starting at the 8:13 mark. Sacred Heart doubled up Long Island on shots, 32-16 and also held a 15-7 edge in draw controls. The Blackbirds struggled clearing the ball, managing just 11 of 21 successful clears while turning the ball over 18 times. SHU held the ground ball edge, 15-10.
SHU Among the Nation's Stat Leaders... The Sacred Heart Pioneers are currently tied for 8th in this week's NCAA rankings in draw controls per game. The Pioneers and Duke Blue Devils are both averaging 14.40 draws per game. Maryland leads the nation at 17.67. Senior Brianna Bubeck is 4th in the country in draw wins at 20 (5.40 per game). Sophomore Amanda Williams is tied for 30th at 2.20. SHU is tied with Villanova and Syracuse for 10th on the caused turnovers per game list at 11.20 per game. Quinnipiac is tops in the land at 15.60. Senior Maureen Hohn is 5th in the country at 2.40 caused turnovers per game (12).
Pioneers in the NEC Stat Rankings... The Pioneers are among the conference leaders offensively and defensively. SHU is 2nd in the NEC in goals per game (10.78) and points per game (15.80). The Pioneers and Monmouth are the only two teams averaging double digit goals per game. SHU is 3rd in the league in assists (4.80), 2nd in shots per game (26.0) and shot percentage (.423). Defensively, the Pioneers ranked 2nd in caused turnovers (11.20), 4th in goals against (11.18) and 5th in save percentage (.472).
Bubeck Hits 100 Career Points... Sacred Heart senior Brianna Bubeck broke the 100 career point plateau with her four goals and an assist against Long Island. Bubeck is off to a strong start with 20 points on 15 goals and five assists. In her three years at Sacred Heart, Bubeck has 80 goals and 23 assists (103 points). Bubeck in 9th on the SHU all-time point list, 9th on the all-time goals scored list and tied for 8th on the all-time assists list.
History... This is the Pioneer's ninth year of competition in the Northeast Conference. Sacred Heart has qualified for the NEC Tournament five times and posts a 82-68 Division I record. The Pioneers have posted 10 wins three times and have not had a losing season since 1998.
