ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Cedar Crest College lacrosse team was downed by Keystone College in a 16-7 final in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) action on Friday afternoon at the FalconPlex.

The teams played an even opening 15 minutes, each scoring twice. Senior Krista Strausser (Danville, Pa.) and sophomore Maria Tomada (Buenos Aires, Argentina) netted the markers for the Giants while Falcons' senior Madyson Lagano (Elkton, Md./North East) registered her first of three on the day with 9:46 left. Freshman Maddie Graham (Clayton, Del./Smyrna) went on to deposit a goal at the four-minute mark to make it a 2-2 game.

The Giants started the second quarter with three straight markers, two of which came from the stick of senior Strausser, who finished with a game-high six goals. Cedar Crest answered back with two of their own, both coming from Lagano to cut the Keystone lead to one, 5-4, with 5:02 remaining before the half. Keystone found the back of the net two more times in the last five minutes to give them a 7-4 advantage at the break.  

The Giants went on a 5-1 run in the third stanza, including a spurt of four straight tallies. Sophomore Emily Schoelier (Newton, N.J./Sussex County Technical) netted the lone marker for the Falcons in the frame as they found themselves down 12-5 heading into the last quarter.

Cedar Crest came out with back-to-back goals to start the fourth quarter, coming from freshman Lauren Jackson (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) and Graham to trim the deficit to five, 12-7. However, the Giants closed the contest on a 4-0 run to capture the 16-7 final.

Lagano paced the Falcons with four points on three goals and one assist. She also registered a team-high seven draw controls. Graham followed with two goals and six draw controls while Schoelier had one goal. Sophomore Kaleigh Woomer closed out the point column with an assist in the setback.

On the defensive end, senior Sydney Heathcott (Newburgh, Ind./Castle) paced Cedar Crest with four caused turnovers and five ground balls. Freshman Ashley Large (Parker, Colo./Regis Jesuit), Schoelier, and Woomer contributed two apiece while sophomore Mira Carver (Lebanon, N.J./North Hunterdon), junior Alexandra Infante (Stowe, Vt./Stowe), and sophomore Krystal Sears (Manchester, N.J./Manchester Township) each had one.

The Falcons collected 19 ground balls on the afternoon. After Heathcott with five, Carver was next in line with four. Woomer followed with three while Schoelier added a pair. Lagano, sophomore Bailey DeNight (Norwood, Pa. /Interboro), Large, Infante, and junior Kailyn Jones (Weatherly, Pa./Weatherly) each tallied one.

Carver played all 60 minutes in goal for Cedar Crest, making 10 saves on 26 shots on goal. She also received the loss, putting her record at 1-6 on the season.  

Overall, the Falcons took 19 total shots, with 14 of them going on goal, grabbed 19 ground balls, caused 13 turnovers and won 13 draw controls. Cedar Crest finished the game going 1-for-4 on free-position shots and 9-25 on clear attempts.

Cedar Crest (1-6 overall, 0-3 CSAC) will begin a string of back-to-back road games at Centenary University on Wednesday, April 20 at 4:00 p.m. Keystone (2-8 overall, 2-2 CSAC) returns to action at Wilson College on Saturday, April 23 at 1:00 p.m.

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