Guiliano Leads Tigers Past Allegheny

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Wittenberg women's lacrosse extended a regular season North Coast Athletic Conference winning streak to nine games with a 16-10 defeat of Allegheny on Saturday at Edwards-Maurer Field.

The win moves the Tigers to 6-2 overall and 3-0 in the NCAC, extending a regular season conference win streak that dates back to March 31, 2012.

Multiple news outlets forecasted a temperature of nearly 60 degrees for the first draw. Mother Nature had other plans, as the air was chilled at 46 degrees with a stiff wind blowing into the stands. Even Ohio's impersonation of April could not cool off the Tigers, though, as eight different players got into the scoring column against the Gators.

Five of those players joined the scoring report in the second half, after just three Tigers accounted for the team's seven first-half goals. Senior Erin Guiliano (Loveland, Ohio/Kings) led the trio with three goals, while junior Francine Murzynski (Mentor, Ohio/Lake Catholic) and sophomore Logan Warye (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) each tossed in a pair. That totaled up to a 7-5 halftime lead and a 19-13 advantage in shots.

The second half proceeded in a more balanced manner. Seven players scored one goal in the second period, including junior Nicolette Lyons (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest),junior  Alie Marousek (Ballston Lake, NY/Portsmouth, NH), sophomore Megan Loofbourrow (Prospect, Ky./Ballard), sophomore Beth Hubbard (West Hartford, Conn./Notre Dame de Sion, Mo.), Murzynski, Guiliano and Warye. Senior Kellen Morrissey (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill) tallied two scores to propel Wittenberg to a 9-5 second-half scoring advantage.

Guiliano finished the game with four goals to lead the team, followed by Murzynski and Warye with three, and Morissey with two.

Murzynski also assisted on two goals to lead the team in points with five, while assuming her customary spot at the top of the draw controls list with six. Senior Katie Warner (Delaware, Ohio/Olentangy) was disruptive to Allegheny's gameplan, causing three turnovers and, as a result, pacing the Tigers with five groundballs.

As a team, Wittenberg converted on 6-of-9 free-position attempts and held Allegheny to 3-of-7, much of the credit going to senior goalkeeper Katie Bondy (Westerville, Ohio/South), who stopped 11 shots in the game.

The Tigers finished the contest with advantages of 36-27 in shots and 19-7 in draw controls.

Wittenberg hit the road for New York immediately following the game, headed to Fredonia State for a Noon matchup on Sunday, originally scheduled for March 2 but postponed due to weather concerns. Fredonia State will be providing live statistics for the game, available on WittenbergTigers.com or FredoniaBlueDevils.com.

John Strawn '07