COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's lacrosse team opened its 2023 season with a 12-7 victory over Post University on Monday afternoon at Duffy Field.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (1-0), Post (0-2)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Junior Catie Murphy (Northboro, Mass./Brewster Academy/Wagner), 4 goals, 3 assists
• Senior Erin Stolz (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough), 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 ground balls
• Senior Hope Alto (South Boston, Mass./Ursuline Academy), 2 goals, 4 draw controls
• Sophomore Molly Gannon (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury), 2 goals
• First-year Sophia Lynch (West Hartford, Conn./Conard), 2 assists, 5 draw controls, 3 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers
• Sophomore Addy Fenton (Andover, Mass./Phillips Academy), 1 goal, 2 draw controls
• Junior Darby Rich (Melrose, Mass./Tilton School), 1 goal
• Sophomore Abby Cole (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool), 1 save in 30 minutes
• Junior Hope Msumba (Grafton, Mass./Grafton), 4 saves, 2 ground balls in 30 minutes of relief, win
• First-year Erin Boyd (Islip, N.Y./Saint Anthony's), 4 ground balls
• Senior Molly Carroll (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield), 2 caused turnovers
• Senior Mackenzie Costello (Peterborough, N.H./ConVal Regional), 2 ground balls
• First-year Ellie Drinkwater (North Kingstown, R.I./North Kingstown), 2 caused turnovers

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Morgan Cassiliano, 4 goals
• Junior Cara DiStefano, 1 goal, 5 draw controls, 2 ground balls
• Sophomore Samantha Targonski, 1 goal, 3 draw controls, 2 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers
• Senior Christina Badaracco, 11 saves, 2 ground balls

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights improved to 2-0 in the series, also winning last Feb. 19.
• Saint Michael's picked up 11 caused turnovers on 18 Post giveaways, holding the Eagles to a 10-for-20 clearance effort. The hosts were 8-for-9 on clears.
• After being outshot in the first quarter, 5-3, the Purple and Gold held a 26-9 lead the rest of the way en route to a 29-14 advantage for the game.
• Murphy had the first four-goal game of her career. She was the initial Purple Knight with seven points or three assists since April 17, 2019, when Alex Vincent '19 had eight points, and Erin Mikson '21 (5) and Kaelyn Oliver '20 (3) both posted three-plus helpers. Vincent was the most recent Purple Knight to total at least four goals and three assists, notching four of each on March 30, 2019.
• Msumba picked up her first college victory.

THE ACTION

• Cassiliano scored the game's first two goals before senior Molly Dobratz made it 3-0 in Post's favor by 6:55 of the opening quarter.
• Murphy struck at 3:19 on a free-position shot before tallying again unassisted at 12:27 of the second stanza, but Targonski buried an eight-meter shot at 9:27 to provide the Eagles a 4-2 advantage.
• Fenton responded with a free-position marker with 4:43 left before Murphy scored over her shoulder 52 seconds later to knot the game.
• Cassiliano scored only 43 seconds after that, with 3:08 remaining, but the Purple Knights countered with eight of the game's final 10 goals.
• Alto converted Lynch's feed 38 seconds before halftime to again force a tie, and Gannon (11:02), Stolz (9:19) and Rich (7:57) all scored in a 3:05 stretch of the third quarter prior to Murphy creating a 9-5 lead at 3:15. The hosts never again led by fewer than three goals.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Wednesday vs. No. 25 Saint Anselm College, 3 p.m.
• The Hawks' national ranking is according to the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA).