Danbury, CT - Senior Kara Kruczkiewicz (Brookfield, CT) and freshman Nicole Perrone (Brookfield, CT) each scored four goals to lead the Western Connecticut State University women's lacrosse team to a 16-11 victory over Castleton State College in the 2010 season opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at the WestConn Athletic Complex.

Also scoring for the Colonials were freshman Devon Edwards (Islip, NY) with two goals, followed by freshman Kelly Brennan (Hicksville, NY), senior Jessica Majeski (Norwalk, CT), sophomore Brianna Mitterando (Mastic Beach, NY), freshman Emily Brooks (Kingston, NY), freshman Elana Gayton (Ellington, CT), and senior Lindsey Naughton (Oxford, CT) who each score one goal.  Sophomore Jessica Bouwman (New Milford, CT) led the Colonials in assists with two.

For Castleton, Maria VanDerKar (Manchester, VT) and Stephanie Pearce (Shoreham, NY) led with four goals each.  Nicole Adams (Rutland, VT) added two goals and handed out two assists, while Katelyn Nardini (Scotia-Glenville, NY) scored once.

WestConn took control of the action early, scoring twice in the game's first minute and a half.  Castleton fought back to even the score at 3-3 after 10 minutes of play. With three minutes remaining in the half and the score tied 7-7, Perrone score two goals in just over one minute to give WestConn a 9-7 lead. VanDerKar then scored for the Spartans with less than a minute remaining in the first half and the Colonials went into intermission with a 9-8 lead.

In the second half, WestConn again got off to a quick start with goals by Kruczkiewicz and Perrone in the first 90 seconds. Castleton answered with two goals to narrow the WestConn lead to 11-10. Defense and goal tending then took over as both teams went scoreless over the next nine minutes. When Brennan broke the scoreless drought with twelve minutes left, it began a 5-1 scoring run by the Colonials to close out the game and seal the 16-11 victory.

Freshman goalkeeper Meghan Maroney (Granby, CT) made two saves for the Colonials to earn a victory in her first collegiate start, while Rebecca Duszak (Erieville, NY) made nine saves in a losing effort for the Spartans.

WestConn, now 1-0 on the season, will return to action on Thursday, March 11th, when it travels to New Jersey for a non-conference match-up against Kean. Game time is slated for 4:00pm. Castleton falls to 0-1 and will play host to Thomas College on March 13 at 12 noon. The game will be the first of 12 this season in the brand new Spartan Stadium.

Courtesy of: Western Connecticut Sports Information