#24 Stevens collects 22-2 win over Gators to secure Top Seed in Empire 8 Tournament
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Team Stats
Stevens
| Game Statistics | Stevens | Russell Sage College |
|---|---|---|
| Shots | 43 | 6 |
| Ground Balls | 30 | 13 |
| Saves | 3 | 12 |
| Clears | 13-15 | 6-15 |
| Turnovers | 10 | 24 |
| Draw Controls | 13 | 12 |
| Free Position Shots | 2-5 | 0-0 |
Albany, NY-- The Sage Colleges' women's lacrosse team hosted the No. 24 ranked Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology on Wednesday afternoon in an Empire 8 contest. Undefeated in the league, Stevens posted a 22-2 win over Sage to snap the Gators' three-game win streak and give Stevens the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Empire 8 Tournament. At 12-4, the Ducks delivered the 200th career win for Head coach Celine Cunningham, who is in her 16th season with the Ducks as they posted a 7-0 mark in league play. Sage's season comes to a close with a 5-9 mark overall and a 2-6 Empire 8 record.
Stevens led 15-1 at the half and got eight points from senior attacker Cami Santor (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) as she poured in six goals with two assists and now 27 goals with 27 assists for 54 points. Sophomore attacker Kyra Bednarski (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) also added eight points on three goals with five assists. Bednarski also added her 100th career goal in the contest and now has a team-best 83 points on 48 goals with 35 assists. Joining her in the 100 goal club at Stevens was senior midfielder Julianna Ricci (Millersville, MD/Severna Park) as she finished with three goals and three assists, elevating her season numbers to 36 goals with 11 assists and 47 points.
Sophomore Hannah Condren (Walkersville, MD/Walkersville) added five goals as well for the Ducks, while sophomore Brianne Salera (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North) added four goals off the bench.
Sage's senior attacker Torri Sperl (Saugerties, NY/Saugerties) picked up two goals for the Gators, while seniors Ellen Abbott (Rensselaer, NY/Columbia) and Stephanie Nunez (Bronx, NY/Bronx Leadership Academy II) added one assist for Sage.
Sperl, who earned Empire 8 Player of the Week status on Monday, finishes the season as Sage's top scorer in 2018 with 48 points on 39 goals with nine assists. In her two seasons at Sage, Sperl collected 88 career points. She finishes her time at Sage ranked third in career points, third in career goals (77), and sixth in assists (11).
The contest also marked the final game of their careers for Sage's Martine Ianniello (Havre de Grace, MD/Havre de Grace), Nikki Pedone (Ballston Lake, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake), Adrianna Spucches (Saugerties, NY/Red Hook), and graduate performer Savannah Mason (Wynantskill, NY/Averill Park).
Ianniello collected 61 career points in her four seasons at Sage, while finishing sixth in career points. She also added 51 career goals (6th), and tied for seventh with 10 assists in 52 games played. Her 52 game splayed stand second all-time at Sage. Right behind her with 42 career appearances is Mason, who finished second all-time with her 96 career ground ball pickups. Mason also added 54 career draw controls, good enough for sixth and eight on Wednesday against Stevens.
Spucches added 39 career points at Sage to finish 10th in points, while standing fifth with her 12 career assists. Pedone racked up 66 career ground ball pickups and is sixth on the career list, while her 39th career draws is tied for ninth best.
On the 2018 season, Sperl had a personal-best 39 goals with 9 assists to lead the team in scoring, while Ianniello finished with her best season and was the team's second leading scorer with 28 points on 22 goals with 6 assists. Nunez also added her best season with three assists.
Sage's rookie goalie Marina Azab (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) took the loss allowing seven goals in 10:40 with five saves. She shared in the net with rookie Carly Plaisance (Benington, VT/Mount Anthony Union) and junior Jenna Cislak (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington). Cislak added four saves in 30:00 minutes of work with seven goals allowed, while Plaisance worked in 19:20 with three saves and eight goals allowed.
Stevens' senior goalie Stephanie Schnelzer (Carmel, IN/Carmel) picked up the win to move to 12-3 in goal after playing 30 minutes with one save and one goals allowed. She shared time with rookie Olivia Demetres (Valley Cottage, NY/Nyack) who had two saves with one goal allowed.
