ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley women's lacrosse team battled tough defensively against 14th-ranked The College of New Jersey on Saturday evening in an 11-3 defeat to the Lions on Arnold Field. First-Year Kamille Bagapuro scored twice to lead the offense for the Dutchmen.
 
The Dutchmen (6-4) held their own on the defensive end for most of the game against the Lions (7-1). The offense, however, struggled to get anything going against a stingy defense. TCNJ scored five times in the first quarter, including a woman-up goal and a free position goal. The Lions had an 8-0 shot advantage during the first 15 minutes. Bagapuro won LVC's only draw control of the quarter.
 
LVC forced a turnover to begin the second quarter as the teams traded turnovers over the first few minutes. Molly Whisler took the team's first shot of the game as her attempt from right in front of the crease was kept out of the back of the net by the goalie. Kyla Hebert then put a shot wide. TCNJ took its first shot of the quarter with 5:23 left as Gigi Ditsky saved a free-position shot. The Lions scored on a rebound attempt after quickly picking up the ground ball. Hebert had a shot saved after Katie Giusti won the next draw control. Neither team was able to score over the final four minutes of the half as the Lions took a 6-0 lead into the break.
 
Bagapuro put the Dutchmen on the board a few minutes into the second half as she converted a free position shot for her ninth goal of the season. Chloe Moser won the following draw, but a turnover gave TCNJ possession. Ditsky made a big save before the Lions were able to add a woman-up goal to make it 7-1. The teams battled up and down the field until TCNJ scored a woman-down goal to take an 8-1 lead with 1:47 on the clock.
 
The Lions maintained possession to start the fourth quarter, and Ditsky came up with another big save on a free-position shot. The senior added another save before the Lions were able to sneak a shot pass to increase their lead to 9-1 with 11 minutes left. It took another four minutes for the Lions to add to the lead with a woman-up goal. TCNJ got to a 10-goal advantage with 3:15 left after a failed clear attempt by the Dutchmen. Whisler eluded a defender and scored with a minute left for her 28th goal of the year. Grace Marchese won the next draw, and Elizabeth Morgan connected with Bagapuro over the middle for her second goal of the game.
 
Inside the Box

• Bagapuro recorded her fourth multi-goal game of the year and now has 10 goals on the season.
• Whisler continued her goal-scoring streak with her 98th career goal. The senior has scored in every game this year.
• Morgan recorded her 21st assist of the year. The junior has recorded a point in every game.
• Ditsky made eight saves in goal and had five ground balls.
• Moser won three draw controls and had four ground balls.

Up Next
The Dutchmen will begin conference play on Wednesday, April 1, with a big home game on Arnold Field against DeSales University. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m. in a rematch of last year's semifinal game between the teams.

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