Blue Devils hold off Mount Union
Fredonia won its third straight women's lacrosse game Saturday, a 9-5 decision over Mount Union at University Stadium.
Audrey Yokopovich (Webster/Webster Thomas) had three goals and two assists. She had a hand in all of Fredonia's second-half scoring to help turn back a Mount Union comeback bid.
Kristie Kleine (Cazenovia/Cazenovia) and Katie Miller (Hamburg/Hamburg) had two goals each for the Blue Devils, who improved to 4-3. Nicole Burrows (Baldwinsville/Baldwinsville) finished with eight saves.
Emily Sendker scored twice for the visiting Raiders, who came in on a four-game winning streak and fell to 5-3. Nikiki Bonaduce made nine saves for Mount Union.
The game featured two teams who appeared in each of the last two NCAA Division III tournaments and starting this season in the Top 20 -- Fredonia at No. 13, Mount Union at No. 18 -- in the Lacrosse Magazine pre-season rankings. It also marked Mount Union's first trip to Fredonia, one year after the series began last season in Alliance, Ohio. The Blue Devils avenged last season's loss Saturday with a quick start and a strong finish.
Kleine scored a pair of goals before Mount Union's Marjie McNamara cut the margin to 2-1. A goal by Jade Williams (Tully/Lafayette) and two by Miller pushed Fredonia's advantage to 5-1.
The Raiders took momentum into halftime on a goal by Sendker, then kept it on a goal by Taylor Pensyl off the draw 15 seconds into the second half. Sendker's second goal trimmed Fredonia's lead to 5-4 with 26:26 left in regulation time.
Yokopovich restored order with a pair of unassisted goals. A player-down goal by Kolbie Haines completed Mount Union's scoring with 16:09 remaining. Key defensive stops plus goals by Yokopovich and Monica Van Donsel (Cortland/Cortland) salted away Fredonia's win.
Juliana Kotas (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster) was Fredonia's top field player with three ground balls, two caused turnovers, and one draw control. Lauren Metz (Williamsville/Lancaster) also collected three ground balls and caused a turnover. Haines led the Raiders with three ground balls, two caused turnovers, and two draws.
The Blue Devils take to the road for their next game, Wednesday at Nazareth, before playing host to Cortland next Saturday. The Red Dragons are the defending SUNYAC and NCAA Division III champs and are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation.
