Emerson Edges Fitchburg State, 12-8

Burns and Swan lead Falcons with eight points despite setback

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (March 10, 2009) - The Fitchburg State women's lacrosse team fell to Emerson College, 12-8 in a non-conference contest today at the 13^th annual "Spring Fling" in West Palm Beach, Florida. .

Freshman Amanda Burns (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) and junior Emily Swan (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) combined for eight points on the contests, totaling four goals and four assists. Burns led the attack with a team-high four goals, while Swan tallied one score and three helpers. Junior Tori D'Amato (Hampden, Mass./Merrimack), sophomore Kaitlyn Kelley (Pepperell, Mass./North Middlesex) and freshman Kaylee Bergeron (Acushnet, Mass./New Bedford) chipped in with one goal apiece.

Emerson jumped out to an early 6 - 1 lead in the first half, grabbing a 9-3 advantage at the break. Sophomore Meghan Ross (Wrentham, Mass./King Phillip) led the Lions charge with four goals and one assist in the half, while Burns notched two goals for the Falcons.

Fitchburg State continued to battle in the second half, cutting the Emerson lead to 11-7 midway through the period. Burns started the scoring for the Falcons with a goal in the first 3:21 of the period, while Bergeron and D'Amato followed with back-to-back scores over a 0:23 span. Moments later, Emerson responded with its 12^th goal of the season with a score by sophomore Laura Miley (Cranston, R.I./LaSalle) to seal its second victory of the season.

Emerson out-shot Fitchburg State 28-25 in the contest, while the Falcons posted a 20-17 advantage in groundballs. Senior Jen Astrella (Auburn, Mass./Auburn) totaled 11 saves in the complete game effort for the Falcons, while freshman Kristen DeTroia (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater) stopped seven shots for the Lions.

Fitchburg State (0-2, 0-0 NEWLA) is set to be back in action on March 21^st as it hosts Southern Maine at 3 p.m. Emerson (1-1, 0-0 GNAC) will face Vassar College on Thursday at 10 a.m.

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

 Emerson 12, Fitchburg State 8 

Goals:
FIT: Amanda Burns (4), Emily Swan (1), Tori D'Amato (1), Kaylee Bergeron (1), Kaitlyn Kelley (1)
EME: Maeghan Ross (6), Laura Miley (2), Katie Peters (2), Amy Gervis (1), Carmen Trobaugh (1);

Assists:
FIT: Swan (3), Kelly Finamore (1);
EME: Ross (2), Monica Carroll (1), Amy Gervis (1);

Goalkeeping:
FIT: Jen Astrella (60:00), 11 saves:
EME: Kristen DeTroia (60:00), seven saves