Sullivan, Branthover Earn Weekly Lacrosse Honors on Monday
Pair helped lead CCSU to two NEC wins over the weekend
The Central Connecticut women's lacrosse team earned a pair of Northeast Conference wins over the weekend to move to 2-2 in league play with three more games remaining on the league schedule. Central topped Robert Morris 11-8 and followed that up with a 14-6 win over St. Francis U at home on Sunday.
On Monday, a pair of Blue Devils were honored for their performances over the weekend. Sophomore Kylie Sullivan was named the NEC Co-Player of the Week, and freshman goalkeeper Jackie Branthover was named the Co-Defensive Player of the Week and the Rookie of the Week.
Sullivan put together two of her best career games this past weekend. She finished the weekend with three goals and seven assists. On Sunday she matched a school-record with five assists, to go along with one goal, as Central set a new season-high for goals in a game with 14. The five assists matches an NEC single-game high this season.
Sullivan assisted on four first half goals as the Blue Devils built a 7-3 halftime lead. With the game tied 2-2, Sullivan set up three consecutive goals with tremendous ball movement and precision as Central used a quick 3-0 spurt to build the lead to 5-2. She added a goal and a fifth assist in the second half as the Blue Devils won their second straight.
On Friday in a three-goal win over RMU, Sullivan posted a goal and a pair of first half assists as Central built a 9-2 halftime advantage. In the second half she added her second goal as the Blue Devils beat RMU for the first time since the 2013 season. On the year Sullivan now leads CCSU with 15 assists, and is third in the league in assists per game (1.15) and first in league play in assists per NEC-game (2.25).
Branthover, who has started every game in goal for the Blue Devils this season, allowed a league-low 12 goals in the two games this weekend. She began her week making five saves, all in the second half, as the Blue Devils topped RMU 11-8 for their first win vs. the Colonials since 2013. She added a pair of ground balls and a caused turnover in the game as her stellar play in goal withstood a furious RMU second half charge. After the lead was cut to two, she held RMU scoreless in the final 5:55 to win her first-ever NEC game.
She was even better on Sunday, making 11 saves in a 14-6 home win over St. Francis U. Branthover let in a season-low six goals while posting double-figure saves for the sixth time this season. Eight of her saves came in the second half. She allowed just 14 goals over the weekend, and made 16 total saves. She is now third in the league in save percentage (.452) in league games and leads the NEC with 33 league saves in four games.
The Blue Devils are back in action on Friday, hosting 3-1 Bryant at 5 p.m. on Arute Field.
