Perkoski Scores Five Goals in Lax Victory

The Central Connecticut women's lacrosse team defeated Robert Morris, 14-9, on Friday afternoon.  The Blue Devils (6-6, 4-2 NEC) set a new program record for NEC victories in a season (4) with the win.  Senior Ashley Perkoski posted a game-high eight points, including five second half goals.

The Blue Devils jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the first 10 minutes of play with goals by senior Ashley Mara and junior Betsy Vendel.  Sophomore Claire Healy picked up the assist on Mara's goal and junior Meaghan McCurry helped Vendel.

Robert Morris' Erin Mossop scored a goal to stop Central's momentum briefly, but Vendel was able to find McCurry three minutes later for a score, which gave the Blue Devils a 3-1 lead.

The Colonials (4-9, 2-4 NEC) scored three straight goals to take their first and only lead of the game, but a pair of goals by the Blue Devils quickly erased the lead.  McCurry notched her second goal of the game with the help of Perkoski and junior Mackenzy Ryan scored an unassisted goal to give Central a 5-4 advantage.

A goal by Robert Morris, with 2:53 remaining in the period, sent the game to the half with a 5-5 tie.

In the second half, Central took control of the game with six straight goals to start the period.  The Blue Devils' six goals all came in the first 15 minutes of the period.  McCurry scored to complete her hat-trick and Vendel posted her second goal with the help of Ryan.

From there, Perkoski went on a remarkable run where she scored four straight goals, her first coming unassisted.  She followed that with a score off a pass from sophomore Amanda Toke.  After a free position goal, Perkoski completed her run with the help of Ryan's second assist.

The run gave the Blue Devils an 11-5 lead, which the Colonials would not be able to overcome.

Central scored three more goals in the game to finish with 14 points.  Perkoski picked up her third assist of the game, passing to Ryan for a goal, before scoring her fifth and final goal of the day to make it a 13-7 game.

After a pair of Robert Morris goals, Vendel passed to Healy for the final score of the game.

Perkoski finished with eight points, which is a single-game team-high this season.

Ryan, Vendel and McCurry all finished the game with four points.

The Blue Devils held a 17-7 advantage in draw controls.  Mara and Vendel each controlled a game-high five.

Senior Erin DeLancey improves to 6-6 on the season with the victory.  She made eight saves and scooped up a pair of ground balls.

Junior Ali Roche had a solid game on defense.  She caused three turnovers, controlled three draws and picked up a pair of ground balls.

The Blue Devils improve to 5-0 at home with the victory.  The Central defense has not allowed an opponent to score more than nine goals on Arute Field this season.

The Blue Devils will host St. Francis (PA) at Arute Field on Sunday afternoon.  That game will begin at 1 p.m.