SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Southern Connecticut State University lacrosse team defeated American International, 12-7, in their season opener on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at Ronald J. Abdow Field. With the win, the Owls improve to 1-0 overall and 1-0 in the Northeast 10, while the Yellow Jackets fall to 1-4 overall and 1-3 in the NE10.
 
Six different Owls scored goals, led by junior Karlie Rowe (Niantic, Conn.), sophomore Jettke Gray (Easton, Conn.) and freshman Savannah Feinberg (Sound Beach, N.Y.), who all scored three-goals apiece. Gray, a transfer from Ithaca, was making her Southern debut, while Feinberg was making her collegiate debut. Junior Molly Kelly (Colchester, Conn.), senior Mia Pulisciano (Cheshire, Conn.), and senior Steph Seymour (North Branford, Conn.) all scored one goal apiece. Freshman Brianna Shaw (Branford, Conn.) recorded three assists, while Pulisciano had two assists and Seymour added one. Senior Laura Morton (Somers, Conn.) saved 10 shots in the game.


First Half

• AIC took a 1-0 lead in the opening minutes, but Southern ripped off four consecutive goals in a three-minute span to take a 4-1 lead. Feinberg got the scoring started with her first collegiate goal, then Gray scored her first goal as an Owl on an assist from Seymour. Feinberg added her second goal of the game with 21:58 left in the half, then Rowe scored on an assist from Pulisciano to cap off the run.
• AIC scored to make the score 4-2 with 14:16 remaining in the half, but Kelly and Gray both scored to push the Owls lead 6-2, their largest of the first half. Kelly's goal was the first of her collegiate career, while Gray's goal came on the first collegiate assist of Shaw's career.

Second Half

• Southern scored six of the first seven goals of the second half, jump started by Pulisciano's first goal of the season and Rowe's second goal of the game.
• AIC scored with 13:00 minutes remaining to cut Southern's lead to 8-5, but Rowe and Seymour scored within a 30 second span to push Southern's lead to 10-5.
• Gray and Feinberg capped off their debuts with their third goals of the game with under four minutes remaining. AIC scored the final two goals of the game, but Southern held on for a 12-7 win.

Notes

• Rowe recorded her seventh career game with at least three goals scored, and her first since Feb. 29, 2020 against Post.
• Feinberg became the first Southern freshman to record three goals in a game since Rowe had four against Assumption on April 24, 2019.
• Feinberg and Gray became the first  players to score three goals in their first game played at Southern since Samantha Cozzolino did so on March 12, 2016 against Merrimack.
• Shaw became the first Southern player with at least three assists in a season opening game since Allison Ahern against American International on March 27, 2007.
• Shaw became the first freshman to record at least three assists in a game since Kelly Jagodzinski did so on March 30, 2019 against Franklin Pierce. 
• Sophomore Caroline White (Madison, Conn.) scooped up a career-high four ground balls, while sophomore Jessica Amarante (Branford, Conn.) scooped up a career-high three.
• Junior Kelly Jagodzinski (Stamford, Conn.) recorded a career-high five draw controls.
• Morton recorded her 22nd career game with at least 10 saves.
• Morton now has 406 career saves, becoming the second player in program history with 400 career saves. Lisa Corso leads Southern in career saves with 747.
• After winning their season opener in 2020, Southern has now won their first game of the season in back-to-back years for the first time since 2016 and 2017.
• Southern won their NE10 Conference opening game for the first time since March 30, 2018 against Saint Michael's.

Up Next
Southern wraps up their two-game road trip to start the season against Pace University on Saturday, April 3, at 1:00. Pace is currently ranked No. 18 in the IWLCA Division II Coaches Poll and U.S. Lacrosse Magazine Division II Women's Poll.