Box Score

RIVERDALE, N.Y. - In a game of runs on either side, it was the Lafayette women's lacrosse team that peaked at the right times, pulling away in the second half for a 16-12 victory on the road at Manhattan in Riverdale, N.Y. on Wednesday afternoon.

The game was tied at the break, but the Leopards used a pair of five-goal runs in the second half to swing the game in their favor. The win improves the Maroon and White to 5-2 overall this season, the best start for the program since a 5-2 start in 2013.

Senior Kirsten Wilhelmsen put in another outstanding offensive performance, leading the Leopards offensively with six goals and two assists on the day. Sophomores Emma Novick and Jane Kirby also notched hat tricks with Novick adding an assist for a four-point afternoon.

Junior Kristin Schaen put in a solid performance at the circle with seven draw controls, leading the Leoaprds to a 17-13 overall edge. Goalies Anna Raymond and Allie Abacherli split time between the pipes with Abacherli picking up the win on three saves in 33:43 of action.

Shots finished at 36-26 in favor of Lafayette and the Leopards led in ground balls by a 20-15 margin. The ride forced the Jaspers into nine failed clears and 17 turnovers, compared to a solid 14-for-16 mark and 12 giveaways from the Maroon and White.

Lafayette jumped on Manhattan from the start, scoring the game's first four goals for a 4-0 lead midway through the opening half. The Jaspers lit their side of the board at the 13:43 mark, but the Leopards answered two minutes later as Wilhelmsen finished past Jaspers' goalie Nikki Prestiano to make it 5-1.

Six straight draw controls brought Manhattan back in the game, though, scoring five straight over a seven-minute stretch to take a 6-5 lead with 3:43 to play in the half. However, Case was able to put momentum back on Lafayette's side headed into the halftime intermission, finishing on an eight-meter shot to the left side with 12 seconds remaining to knot it at 6-6 at the break.

The Jaspers swung the game their way to open the second half of play, scoring the first two goals to take their largest lead at 8-6 after eight minutes. Lafayette responded over the next eight-minute stretch through, winning the battle at the circle, leading to five straight tallies to pull out to an 11-8 advantage.

The Jaspers answered with a pair to make it a one-goal game, 11-10, with 7:42 to play, but Lafayette wouldn't let the game swing, ripping off another five-goal run to put the visitors comfortably ahead, 16-10 with 2:06 left. A couple of tallies from the home side with less than two minutes to play made it interesting, but the Leopards were able to see out at 16-12 victory.

The Leopards finally return home to Fisher Stadium next Wednesday, hosting Villanova at 7 p.m. in the final tune-up before Patriot League play.