March 27, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

CHC lacrosse jolted by Georgian Court
by TOM UTESCHER

CHC’s Carley Glass (#10) is attacked by Georgian Court’s Jillian Hadfield. In the background are Colleen Harner (#19) and Laura Housel. For more photos visit www.chlocalphotos.com. (Photos by Jimmy J. Pack Jr.)

Even before last Thursday’s Chestnut Hill College lacrosse match got underway in very gusty weather conditions, the game programs had been blown away. In a figurative sense, the same could be said about the Griffins after the contest, as the visiting Lions of Georgian Court University breezed past them, 17-5.

It all started innocently enough, with Chestnut Hill matching the first two markers by the visitors, but then Georgian Court went on an offensive roll that resulted in a 9-2 halftime advantage.

The setback resulted in an overall record of 1-5 for the Griffins, who lost four earlier games by closer scores, and recorded a 19-3 victory over Maryland’s Hood College back on March 9. Georgian Court, which hails from central New Jersey, improved to 2-1 on the season.

Goals by juniors Katie Donovan and Stephanie Carlyle helped CHC keep pace in the early going. Attacking into the face of a vigorous wind, the Georgian Court players looked like they were running in sand as they struggled through the midfield, but when they advanced into the arc they had no problem propelling the ball into the net, gaining a seven-point advantage by halftime.

Continuing to move the ball well on offense, with accurate passes and feeds, the Lions increased their lead to 14-2 early in the second half. Junior Tiffanie Stanton eventually broke the ice for the Griffins in the second period, running the ball in from the midfield to score with 16:27 remaining in the game.

After the Lions put in a pair to raise the count to 16-3, CHC’s Donovan completed the hosts’ scoring with back-to-back goals, depositing a backhand shot, and then converting off of a free position. Coming downfield off of the following draw, the Lions’ Shannon Mastrogiovanni netted her second goal of the day to slap the final score on the board.