The title defense of Pace Women’s Lacrosse started on the right foot on Tuesday, February 20. The Setters defeated the Roberts Wesleyan University Red Hawks 17-7, opening up a 1-0 record.
The champs were introduced to a loud crowd to welcome them back to the stadium for an afternoon matinee.
The offense did not take long to get produced. Sophomore Maddie Schubert made it 1-0 just 32 seconds in. Annie Sheehan got the first goal of her career unassisted just 20 seconds later.
Angelina Porcello, who already assisted on Schbert’s goal, got one of her own to make it 3-0. She got a third point when her pass to Sydney Juvelier helped her score with 10:13 left in just the first quarter. However, Roberts Wesleyan had just 2 turnovers and has yet to take a shot. Porcello scored again to make it 2 goals and 2 assists for her and a 5-0 lead. The RedHawks clawed back with one goal just under the 4:30 mark. The Pace defense would not allow another goal until the 7-minute mark of the next period.
Scoring continued for the Setters. Nikki Mottes got two points with a goal and an assist. Schubert got her second goal with 12:57 making for a great program debut. Porcello kept dishing out assists, contributing to three of Pace’s second-quarter goals. WLAX went into halftime up 12-2.
Schubert scored at 9:33 to secure a hat-trick in her debut. Abagail O’Connor quickly scored two goals to open her season. Pace went into the fourth up 12. They led 16-4. Dominance showed no sign of luster on the field in Pleasantville.
As a team, Pace took 34 shots to Roberts Wesleyan taking 20. The Red Hawks committed 20 turnovers while Setters had just nine with their focus on ball security. Pace forced 27 ground balls on the Red Hawks; The Red Hawks only got 12 out of the home team.
Goalkeeper Samantha Tanguay played 44 minutes, allowing 3 goals. She was subbed out for Kate Laico and Ashley Belfiore who split the end of the 3rd quarter and the entire 4th. Laico got 3 saves, and Belfiore made 2.
Porcello led the scoring with 7 points, five of which were assists. Juvelier and Schubert had four apiece. Sheehan added an assist and one more goal to finish with 3 points in her debut. O’Connor, Mottes, and Flocco each had 2 points.
Here’s one for future trivia night: Northwell Stadium has now hosted its first-ever spring sporting event. Northwell Hospitals acquired naming rights to the then Pace Stadium in mid-May after the conclusion of the NCAA Divison II WLAX Tournament East Regionals last year. You can see the Setters at home again next Saturday, March 2 when Georgian Court University comes to town. The game start is scheduled for noon Watch live on paceuathletics.com