WILMINGTON — Smyrna scored six unanswered goals and held Padua off the scoreboard for nearly 15 minutes of game time in a 15-9 lacrosse win on May 5 at Abessinio Stadium.
It was senior night at Abessinio for the Pandas, who celebrated the contributions of London Kurkowski, Bridget McManamon, Natalia Tovar, Molly Mayo, Emily Gifford, Luciana Talley-Starita and manager Aubrey Simendinger. After falling behind early, the Pandas stormed back.
Liliana Rispoli (St. Mary of the Assumption Parish) got Padua on the board at the 9:06 mark following a draw control by Gifford after the Eagles’ scored. Rispoli’s bouncer tied the score, and just 40 seconds later, Riley Bransfield took a pass from Molly Tischler (St. Mary Magdalen Parish) and beat Smyrna goalie Norah Kelly for the 2-1 lead.
Smyrna’s Gillian Shane converted an eight-meter opportunity to tie the score a minute after that, but the Pandas responded midway through the first. Bransfield (Sacred Heart Parish, Oxford, Pa.) carried the ball behind the Eagles’ net, came around the other side and scored on a sharp-angle shot.
Both Kelly and Padua goalie Cassidy Cordery came up with big saves to keep the score at 3-2, but Rispoli took advantage of a turnover with 3:22 to go in the first, ringing a shot off the underside of the crossbar to add to the advantage.
The Eagles, however, turned it up after that to reverse the momentum. Shane added her second late in the first, and, after a Cordery save early in the second, Alexis Hutchison scored on an eight-meter shot to tie the score.
They added two more in the next 48 seconds after winning the draw, one each from Layla Strzalkowski and Shane. The Eagles kept the Pandas from generating much offensively with an aggressive defense, causing a few turnovers along the way. Smyrna’s final two goals of the half came in a span of 18 seconds, both from Ava Elias. That increased the lead to 8-4.
Bransfield ended the Eagles’ scoring streak with her third goal. A Smyrna penalty gave the Pandas a man-up opportunity, and Bransfield’s shot crossed the line a second before the halftime horn sounded.
Rispoli opened the second half by cutting the Smyrna lead to two, but Padua did not score again in the third. The Eagles had just two tallies themselves and entered the fourth with a 10-6 lead.
Smyrna scored in the first minute of the fourth to push the advantage to five. The Pandas cut that to four twice in the period on goals by Anna Arrighi (St. Joseph Parish, Middletown) and Sophia Rensel (St. Thomas the Apostle Parish), but the Eagles would prevail.
Hutchison led the Eagles with five goals, and Shane and Elias each had three. Smyrna (8-4) plays its final home game of the regular season on Wednesday at 4 p.m. against Sussex Academy.
For the Pandas, Bransfield had four, and Rispoli added three. Padua (3-9) is on the road Wednesday night at Newark Charter at 6:30 p.m.
Photos by Mike Lang.
