Women's Lacrosse trails College of Notre Dame of Maryland heading into halftime, but Lady Crusaders prevail over Gators in season finale

BALTIMORE, Md. - The University of Dallas women's lacrosse team (5-10) ended their season on a two-game winning streak, as the Lady Crusaders took down the College of Notre Dame of Maryland (CNDM), 16-9, on the road Sunday afternoon.

Eager to end their timultuous season on a high note, Dallas came out strong against the Gators, scoring the tilt's first goal. After a back-and-forth opening half, the Lady Crusaders, however, went into halftime trailing CNDM, 6-5.

CNDM outshot Dallas, 15-8, and held a 15-6 ground ball advantage after the initial half of play.

The second half, however, was a different story entirely, as the Lady Crusaders made the proper adjustments and reaped the rewards. In the final half, Dallas came out and scored 11 goals to CNDM's three; the Lady Crusaders led in shots, 21-9, and in ground balls, 14-13. 

Sophomore attack Mary Salotto (Salt Lake City, Utah/Skyline H.S.) led Dallas in scoring with seven goals, while adding two assists, two ground balls and four draw controls. Senior captain midfielder Christine McFarland (Floral Park, N.Y./Floral Park H.S.) played hard in her last appearance as a Lady Crusader, winning 12 draw controls, one ground ball, and finishing with three goals and two assists.

Freshman attack Celina Gonzalez (Spring, Texas/Klein H.S.) and junior midfielder Teresa Tesoriero (Phoenix, Ariz./Veritas Prep) each added two goals apiece. Gonzalez also had one assist, one ground ball and 1 draw control, while Tesoriero had three ground balls, two draw controls and one caused turnover.

Sophomore Irene Harris (Cockeysvile, Md./Maryvale Preparatory) and freshman attack Rose Sweeney (Bolingbrook, Ill./Benet Academy) both scored a goal, and Sweeney had four ground ball pick-ups. Co-captain senior defense Hannah Piper contributed two ground balls and two draw controls, while co-captain junior attack Becky Williams (Lyman, S.C./Marianapolis Prep) had one assist, two ground balls and one draw control.

In goal, freshman Samantha Mason (Elgin, Texas/Elgin H.S.) posted eight saves out of 17 shots on goal from the Gators.