HACKETTSTOWN, NJ (March 28, 2009) – A last second free position goal by Neumann’s Gabby D’Ambrosino gave the Centenary women’s lacrosse team its first home loss of the season, as the road team prevailed, 12-11. With 10 seconds left on the clock the Lady Cyclones were called for a foul in their own zone which gave Neumann the free position attempt. The game winner capped off a five-goal scoring spree by Neumann in the last 10 minutes of the game.

The Cyclones were led by the strong play of by junior Megan Mars (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial), who tallied four goals in the contest to give her eight goals in the last two games. Senior Michelle Garone (West Hempstead, NY/West Hempstead), junior Kiti Ovaskainen (Helsinki, Finland/Vaskivuoren Lukio) and freshman Danielle Bay (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg) each scored two goals for Centenary.

Neumann jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with scores from D’Ambrosino and Alex Bowen. Mars kept Centenary in the game by recording the team’s first two goals of the half. Trailing 6-2 with 4:11 remaining, Centenary scored two quick goals to end the period and went into halftime down 6-5.

The Lady Cyclones carried over the momentum to the second half by scoring four unanswered goals and capturing their first lead of the game. Neumann began chipping away and two straight goals by Rachael DiCicco gave the Knights an 11-10 edge with 1:28 remaining. Ovaskainen then tied the game with 30 seconds left to play. Before the last second foul the Lady Cyclones were playing two players down as both Mars and Garone were serving time for previous penalties.

The Lady Cyclones out-shot the Knights 39-21 and also scooped up eight more groundballs. Centenary travels to Immaculata to take on the Mighty Macs on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. before returning home Thursday to take on Ramapo, also at 4:00 p.m.

Boxscore

Colonial States Athletic Conference T-Shirts will be given out at halftime of the women’s game.

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ (March 27, 2009) – The Centenary men’s and women’s lacrosse will play in a CSAC double-header, Saturday, March 28, at Cyclone Field in Hackettstown, NJ. The women will play Neumann at 1:00 p.m., followed by the men against No. 15 Cabrini at 3:00 p.m. CSAC t-shirts will be handed at halftime of the women’s game.

The Lady Cyclones are 4-1 on the season, 1-1 in CSAC, and are coming off an 18-7 win over conference foe Cedar Crest on Wednesday. Neumann is also 1-1 in CSAC action, as both teams are looking to move up in the conference standings.

Centenary has been led by senior Michelle Garone (West Hempstead, NY/West Hempstead), who has 24 goals and four assists on the season. In the latest statistical rankings, she leads the CSAC and is seventh nationally with 5.3 goals per game. As a team, the Lady Cyclones lead the conference in scoring and rank fifth in the nation in that category.

Neumann features Gabby D’Ambrosio, who has 29 goals and three assists for 32 points on the season. The Knights have won two in a row and are coming off a 16-11 victory over Immaculata on Wednesday.

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ (March 25, 2009) – The Centenary women’s lacrosse (4-1, 1-1 CSAC) bounced back from its first loss of the season with an 18-7 victory over Cedar Crest (3-3, 0-3 CSAC), Wednesday in Hackettstown, NJ. The Lady Cyclones outshot their opponent 49-19, including 26-9 in the second half.

Junior Megan Mars (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) led the way with four goals and three assists, while freshman Danielle Bay (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg) finished with three goals and one assist. Senior Michelle Garone (West Hempstead, NY/West Hempstead) posted three goals, one assist and seven groundballs and junior Kiti Ovaskainen (Helsinki, Finland/Vaskivuoren Lukio) recorded three goals and a game-high 10 groundballs. Junior goalkeeper Leslie Ann Pritchard (Port Byron, NY/Port Byron) stopped four shots and allowed only seven goals in the win.

“Our last game was a heartbreaking loss, so I didn’t know how our team would respond,” said head coach John McCloskey. “They bounced back very well. Cedar Crest has a new coach and a new attitude and we knew they would be tough. It was a good win for us.”

Cedar Crest scored first on a goal from Brittany Symbol, but Centenary took over from there. The Lady Cyclones tallied five straight goals, including two from Garone. After another tally by the Falcons, Centenary found the back of the net four more times for a 9-2 lead. Mars scored twice more and Bay added another to give Centenary a 12-5 halftime lead.

The Lady Cyclones’ defense stiffened in the second half, allowing only two goals, including one as time expired. The home team forced 17 turnovers in the stanza and allowed its opponent only four draw controls. Ovaskainen scored all of her goals in the period and Bay found the back of the net twice, giving Centenary the 18-7 victory.

Everyone who played for Centenary grabbed at least one groundball. The Lady Cyclones held a 41-22 advantage in that category.

Centenary returns to action on Saturday, March 28, with a home match against Neumann at 1:00 p.m.

Boxscore

WINCHESTER, VA (3/17/09) The women’s lacrosse is enjoying its best start in their program’s history after posting another one goal win 19-18, this time over Shenandoah University. The win keeps the Lady Cyclones undefeated as their record now stands at 3-0. For Shenandoah the loss lowers their record to 1-4.

Centenary jumped out to a commanding lead in the first half, scoring 14 goals to Shenandoah’s nine. Danielle Bay (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg) scored all five of her goals in the first half. Joining Bay in the goal scoring was Kiti Ovaskainen (Helsinki, Finland/Vaskivuoren Lukio) and Megan Mars (Jackson, NJ/Jackson) who each scored three goals in the half. Michelle Garone (West Hempstead, NY/West Hempstead) had two first half goals.

CC started the second half extending their lead even further when Garone and Ovaskainen took turns alternating goals giving Centenary the lead at 17-9. Shenandoah then scored nine of the half’s next 10 goals and tied the game with eight minutes to play at 18 goals apiece. Jessie Kuykendall and Kierra Nicholson scored three goals each over that span for the Hornets. The next six minutes of the half were played scoreless, but with two minutes to go, again it was Garone who came up big for the Lady Cylones scoring the game winning 19th goal with 2:45 left in the game.

Centenary had three five goal scorers in this game, Bay, Ovaskainen and Garone. For Garone these five goals combined with her nine last games now gives her a two game total of 14 goals.  In the net for CC, Leslie Ann Pritchard (Port Byron, NY/Port Byron) made several key saves on her way to seven saves. The Hornets were led by Jessie Kuykendall who finished the game with four goals.

The Lady Cyclones look to remain perfect as they begin conference action taking on the College of Notre Dame on Friday 3/20 at 3:30pm.


Boxscore

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ (March 16, 2009) – Centenary women’s lacrosse senior midfielder Michelle Garone (West Hempstead, NY/West Hempstead) was named Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. Garone led the Lady Cyclones to a 2-0 week, with wins over Lancaster Bible (19-1, March 9) and Misericordia (23-22, March 11).

Garone tallied 12 goals in the two games, including a career-high nine against Misericordia. In that match, she scored seven times in the second half, finding the back of the net with 55 seconds remaining for the gamewinner. For the week, she also posted two assists, two groundballs and three caused turnovers.

The Lady Cyclones (2-0) are looking for their best start in school history when they travel to face Shenandoah, Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. The Hornets (1-3) have lost their last two contests, giving up 17 goals in both games.

After Tuesday’s match, Centenary returns to action on Friday, March 20, with its first conference game of the season, at the College of Notre Dame at 3:30 p.m.

DALLAS, PA (March 11, 2009) – Senior Michelle Garone (West Hempstead, NY/West Hempstead) scored nine goals, including the gamewinner with 55 seconds remaining, to lead Centenary women’s lacrosse to a 23-22 victory over Misericordia, Wednesday in Dallas, PA. The Lady Cyclones are 2-0 to open their season for the first time in more than four seasons, while Misericordia falls to 1-3.

Junior Megan Mars (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) tallied six goals, all in the first half, while freshman Danielle Bay (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg) continued her strong play with five scores. Junior Kiti Ovaskainen (Helsinki, Finland/Vaskivuoren Lukio) finished with two goals and freshman Chloe O’Rourke (Shelton, CT/Shelton) scored one for the Lady Cyclones.

Mars led the team with five groundballs, while Ovaskainen picked up four, to go along with a team-high three draw controls. She also caused two turnovers, as did Garone. Junior goalkeeper Leslie Ann Pritchard (Port Byron, NY/Port Byron) recorded six saves in the win. Nicole DeAngelis scored nine times and Shannon Tinkham seven to lead Misericordia.

“We were down 18-13 in the second half and came back which says a lot about our kids,” said head coach John McCloskey. “Garone had a very good game. I was pleased offensively and not entirely thrilled with our defensive attempts. All in all, it was a good win versus a good team and the team played well offensively.”  

The goals came early and often as the two teams went back-and-forth to start the game. After Misericordia took a 2-1 lead with 26:03 to go in the first half, Centenary scored five consecutive goals to take a 6-2 edge. Bay tallied twice in that span. But the Cougars fought back, eventually knotting the match at seven. Mars scored twice and Garone once to give the Lady Cyclones a three-goal advantage, but Misericordia went on an 8-3 run to take a 15-13 edge into halftime.

The Cougars continued their scoring in the second half with three consecutive goals to take an 18-13 lead. But Garone took over, scoring four times in a 13 minute span to tie the game at 18. The lead continued to swing from team to team, eventually leading to a 22-22 tie with 2:42 remaining. Then, with 55 seconds to go, Garone found the back of the net for the seventh time in the second half to give Centenary the win.

Centenary returns to action on Tuesday, March 17, in a road game with Shenandoah at 3:00 p.m.

Boxscore

DALLAS, PA (March 11, 2009) – The Centenary women’s lacrosse team will play its first road game of the season when it travels to Dallas, PA, to take on former conference foe Misericordia today at 4:00 p.m. The Lady Cyclones (1-0) are coming off a 19-1 blowout of Lancaster Bible on Monday. The Cougars (1-1) traveled west to Colorado Springs, CO for their first two games, defeating Ft. Lewis 23-10 before falling to Colorado College 21-8.

The Lady Cyclones saw junior Kiti Ovaskainen (Helsinki, Finland/Vaskivuoren Lukio) post impressive numbers in their season-opening victory, as she led the team with five goals, 12 groundballs, eight draw controls and three caused turnovers. She also recorded an assist.

Senior Michelle Garone (West Hempstead, NY/West Hempstead) and junior Megan Mars (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) each tallied three goals and two assists against Lancaster Bible, while freshmen Chloe O’Rourke (Shelton, CT/Shelton) (four goals) and Danielle Bay (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg) (three goals and one assist) each finished with four points. Junior goalkeeper Leslie Ann Pritchard (Port Byron, NY/Port Byron) stopped six shots while allowing only one goal.

Misericordia has been led by senior Jamie Wargo, who has nine goals and three assists. Sophomore Nicole DeAngelis and junior Shannon Tinkham have eight goals apiece, while four other Cougars have at least one score on the season. Senior goalkeeper Kathryn Wallace has 16 saves in the two games while allowing 31 goals.

Last season Centenary defeated Misericordia 16-13 at home behind four goals apiece by Garone and Mars. Ovaskainen had two goals and two assists for the Lady Cyclones in the win. DeAngelis scored five times and Tinkham four times to lead the Cougars.

After today’s game, Centenary returns to action on Tuesday, March 17, at Shenandoah at 3:00 p.m.

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ (March 9, 2009) – Junior Kiti Ovaskainen (Helsinki, Finland/Vaskivuoren Lukio) finished with five goals and 12 groundballs to lead Centenary women’s lacrosse to a 19-1 victory over Lancaster Bible, Monday in Hackettstown, NJ. The Lady Cyclones recorded the first 18 goals of the game en route to the victory.

A pair of freshmen came up big for Centenary, as Chloe O’Rourke (Shelton, CT/Shelton) finished with four goals while Danielle Bay (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg) tallied three goals and one assist. Senior Michelle Garone (West Hempstead, NY/West Hempstead) and junior Megan Mars (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) each tallied three goals and two assists and junior goalkeeper Leslie Ann Pritchard (Port Byron, NY/Port Byron) stopped six shots in the win. The Lady Cyclones defense limited their opponent to only seven shots in the game.

“There were some flashes of good play,” said head coach John McCloskey. “I was not as thrilled with some of our plays on offense. But we came out, played well and got the win, and that’s a good feeling.”

Centenary scored 14 goals in the first half, including four by Ovaskainen and three by Mars. The two freshmen, Bay and O’Rourke, also scored twice apiece in the opening stanza for their first collegiate goals. The Lady Cyclones forced Lancaster Bible into 13 turnovers in the period while giving away only two themselves.

In the second, half, Centenary was content to run out the clock. O’Rourke found the back of the net twice, while Bay, Garone and Ovaskainen also scored for the Lady Cyclones. Kirsten Gnagy recorded the lone goal for the Chargers with 13:14 remaining in the contest.

“We have some young players who were able to get valuable experience today,” said McCloskey. “We were able to play everyone. A couple freshmen played very well in Chloe and Danielle, and I was pleased to see them perform at a high level in their first collegiate game.”

Centenary returns to action on Wednesday, March 11, taking on Misericordia in Dallas, PA.

Boxscore 

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ (March 6, 2009) – The Centenary women’s lacrosse home game against Wells, originally scheduled for Saturday, March 7, has been postponed. Make-up date for the game has yet to be determined. The Lady Cyclones will open their 2009 schedule on Monday, March 9, against Lancaster Bible at 4:00 p.m.

Centenary was picked to finish fifth out of eight schools in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) after finishing 2008 7-7 overall, including 5-5 in conference play, while falling in the opening round of the PAC Tournament to College of Notre Dame, 12-11. CC returns 2008 First Team All-PAC Midfielder Kiti Ovaskainen (Helsinki, Finland/Vaskivuoren Lukio), who also earned Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Second Team Boardwalk All-Region honors. Ovaskainen led NCAA Division III with 86 total groundballs, averaging 6.14 per game.
 
Also returning for Centenary is junior Megan Mars (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial), who was tied for second on the team with 49 points on 35 goals and 14 assists. She recorded 29 groundballs, 23 draw controls and seven caused turnovers. Senior Michelle Garone (West Hempstead, NY/West Hempstead), who tallied 35 goals, seven assists, 39 groundballs, 27 draw controls and 10 caused turnovers, is also back for the Lady Cyclones.

Lancaster Bible is 0-2, having been outscored 40-0 in its two games. The Chargers dropped a 19-0 contest at home to Wesley on Feb. 28 before falling 21-0 at Hood on March 5.

After Monday’s game, the women travel to face Misericordia on Wednesday, March 11, at 4:00 p.m.

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ (February 24, 2009) – The Centenary women’s lacrosse team was picked to finish fifth out of eight schools in the CSAC preseason coaches poll. The Lady Cyclones received 35 votes. Cabrini, the runner-up in 2008, was named the favorite to win the conference after earning seven of eight possible first-place votes for a total of 63 points. Gwynedd-Mercy, Neumann and the College of Notre Dame round out the top five.

Centenary finished 2008 7-7 overall, including a conference mark of 5-5. The Lady Cyclones earned a berth into the PAC Tournament, falling in the first round to College of Notre Dame, 12-11. CC returns 2008 First Team All-PAC Midfielder Kiti Ovaskainen (Helsinki, Finland/Vaskivuoren Lukio), who also earned Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Second Team Boardwalk All-Region honors. Ovaskainen led NCAA Division III with 86 total groundballs, averaging 6.14 per game.
 
In 2008, Ovaskainen led the team in assists (16) and caused turnovers (16), was third on the team in goals (31), tied for third in points (44) and tops in both draw controls (46) and groundballs.  Also returning for Centenary is junior Megan Mars (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial), who was tied for second on the team with 49 points on 35 goals and 14 assists. She recorded 29 groundballs, 23 draw controls and seven caused turnovers. Senior Michelle Garone (West Hempstead, NY/West Hempstead), who tallied 35 goals, seven assists, 39 groundballs, 27 draw controls and 10 caused turnovers, is also back for the Lady Cyclones.

Centenary opens its regular season on Saturday, March 7, at home against Wells at 1:00 p.m. The Lady Cyclones play their first conference opponent on Friday, March 20, when they travel to face the College of Notre Dame at 3:30 p.m.

 2009 CSAC Women's Lacrosse Preseason Poll