Hoboken, NJ (4/5/08) - Freshman midfielder Christine Smith earned six goals on Saturday afternoon to lead the 19th-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology women’s lacrosse team to an 18-7 victory against Montclair State University at the De Baun Athletic Complex in Hoboken, N.J. The game was a re-match of the 2007 Skyline Conference Championship, where the Red Hawks beat the Ducks by a 13-6 final.

Freshman attacker Leah Wasserman posted four goals and an assist, while attempting six shots on goal. Sophomore attacker Alyssa Pigott  collected three goals, two assists and four draws. Freshman attacker Michelle Buonacuore scored three goals. Senior attacker Liz Mather notched a goal and three assists.

Junior attacker Dana Perriello accumulated a goal and two ground balls. Junior defender Cassidy Callahan contributed six draw controls, three ground balls and three caused turnovers.

Montclair (3-5) was led off the bench by freshman attacker Kate Barrie (Marlton, NJ / Cherokee), who tallied three goals. Senior midfielder Bethany Blaine (Moorestown, NJ / Moorestown) registered two goals and three draw controls. Sophomore midfielder Morgan MacPhee (Toms River, NJ / Toms River East) had a goal, two draws and two caused turnovers.

The Ducks opened up the first half by scoring 10 goals on their first 12 shots, which came in a span of 9:36. Their first three tallies came on free-position attempts in a time of 1:38. Then, the team of Wasserman, Smith and Buonacuore each netted a goal to take a 6-0 lead with 22:36 remaining. Soon after, Smith got her hat trick with a goal on a feed from Wasserman. That score got Stevens a 9-0 advantage with 20:47 to go.
 
Following a Perriello score with 15:11 left, which gave Stevens an 11-0 lead, Barrie answered for Montclair with two of the last three goals of the period. But, the Red Hawks still trailed the Ducks by a 12-2 count at intermission.

In the second half, Stevens continued to hold a 10-goal advantage as it was up 14-4 with 21-plus minutes left in the game. After that, the Ducks secured their ninth-consecutive victory with four unanswered goals to take an 18-4 lead with 7:39 to go. Pigott recorded a pair of tallies, while Smith and Wasserman each had an unassisted goal.

Freshman goalkeeper Talia Katz (Lower Merion, PA / Lower Merion) made a game-high 11 saves for Montclair. Senior netminder Stephanie Linder and junior goaltender Grace Sack combined to make 10 stops for Stevens.

The Ducks held a 37-22 advantage in shots, 23-20 edge in ground balls and a 16-11 margin in draw controls. They also converted 86.9 percent (20-of-23) of their clearing attempts. The Red Hawks were 11-of-17 (64.7 percent) on clears.

Montclair State returns to action on Wednesday, April 9 as the Red Hawks host Kean University in a Skyline Conference matchup at Sprague Field beginning at 7:00 pm