University of Albany Women's Lacrosse Takes Fifth Straight in 12-7 Win Over Colgate; Frink Scores Three Goals - UAlbany Sports 2010

Albany, N.Y. - Taylor Frink had three goals and two assists in leading UAlbany to its fifth consecutive win in a 12-7 non-conference victory over Colgate on Tuesday, March 23 at John Fallon Field.

UAlbany (5-1) led 4-3 midway through the first half, but then ripped off four unanswered to end the period. Olivia Jarem scored the first of her two goals in that stretch by cutting from the left and depositing Frink's pass from behind into the cage. Mel Rorie was fouled after a successful clear and the junior went low into the left side of the net with a free-position shot. Kayla Best and Jarem later scored one minute and five seconds apart by converting free-position opportunities.

Colgate (4-5) tried to climb back into the contest several times in the second half. Sophomore midfielder Meghan Lawler, who tallied three goals, scored from the top of the crease off a feed from Colleen Bubnack to close the gap to 11-6 with 11:45 remaining. But UAlbany's Christine Grueniger answered nearly two minutes later when she moved around a defender from the right side and rifled a shot high into the net. The Raiders again cut the deficit to five when Courtney Miller spun off her left shoulder. However, the Great Danes ended the threat when goalkeeper Ashley Ross saved Bubnack's free-position attempt with 2:29 remaining.

The Great Danes, who own their longest win streak at the Division I level, jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening six minutes. Jodi Battaglia connected on Frink's crossing pass following Colgate's failed clear. Frink and Rorie completed that outburst with consecutive goals in a 30-second span. The Raiders, who have won back-to-back Patriot League championships, regrouped with three straight goals. Lawler blasted a free-position shot high into the net, before Kate Bergstrom made a cut into the middle zone and scored into the top left corner with 14:04 left before halftime.

"Colgate is mentally tough and they didn't let you get anything easy," said UAlbany coach Lindsey Hart, whose team is off to its best start as a Division I program. "We had way too many turnovers and were not as crisp or clean as we would like. I thought Ashley Ross and Nikki Branchini played well on defense. We did a good job of getting into the attackers' hands."

Miller, an all-conference midfielder, had two goals and two assists for the Raiders, who were coming off a last-minute win over league-rival Holy Cross three days ago. Goalkeeper Christina Roa totaled 14 saves, seven in each half. UAlbany's Best and Rorie each scored a pair of goals. Ross, a first-year starter as a senior, stopped eight shots and picked up six ground balls.

"We have been working hard on our defense since the Hofstra game (season opener) and have been communicating and getting ready for slides," offered senior defender Tricia Primomo, who collected a career-high five ground balls. "We have the confidence that we did not have our best game today and still won. We want to do better."

Paw Prints: UAlbany extended its win streak to five in a row, the longest in the program's Division I history ... the Great Danes won four straight in 2005 and 2007 ... Colgate had won seven of the previous nine meetings in the series, including last year's 11-10 overtime decision ... Taylor Frink is first among the America East Conference scoring leaders with 19 goals and nine assists ... Kayla Best improved her goal-scoring streak to 52 consecutive games ... All-America East midfielder Nikki Branchini had a career-high four caused turnovers and came up with four draw controls.


Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information