Courtesy of: Western Connecticut State Sports Information

DANBURY, Conn. - Sophomore Nicole Perrone (Brookfield, CT) scored five goals and dished out two assists as the Western Connecticut State University women's lacrosse team held off a late rally by the visitors from Castleton State College to post a 15-13 win in the 2011 home-opener for the Colonials Saturday afternoon at the Westside Athletic Complex.

Junior Brianna Mitterando (Mastic Beach, NY) also had a strong game for the Colonials, scoring three goals and handing out two assists.  Two of Mitterando's goals (both unassisted) came less than a minute apart late in the second half and broke open what had been a tight game to give WestConn a 13-8 lead.

Also scoring for the Colonials were sophomore Devon Edwards (Islip, NY) with three goals and sophomore Kelly Brennan (Hicksville, NY) with two.  Junior Lauren Poppe (Brookfield, CT) and sophomore Jess Tarascio (Ellington, CT) each scored once.  Edwards, Mitterando, and Perrone each finished with two assists.

For Castleton, Marie Van Der Kar (Manchester, VT) and Amanda Flodstrom (Stratham, NH) each scored three goals, while Stephanie Paproski (Newtown, CT), JenniLee Mark (Chelmsford, MA), and Sarah Clark (Guilford, VT) each added two goals.  Angelica Mazzola (Centerport, NY) scored once for the Spartans and had a game-high four assists.

Castleton opened the scoring in the game's first minute and held a 1-0 lead for the first five minutes of play.  A goal by Brennan and two from Perrone put WestConn up 3-1, but the Spartans scored the next two for a 3-3 tie.  In less than two minutes, the Colonials tallied three markers to regain the lead and held Castleton State to one goal in the final 10 minutes of the first half to take a 6-4 lead into the locker room at intermission.

Castleton again scored quickly to open the second half, but two goals by Edwards gave WestConn an 8-5 lead with 25 minutes to play.  The teams traded goals over the next 12 minutes and with 12:46 to play, Mazzola's goal narrowed the WestConn lead to 10-8.  Less than one minute later, Perrone started a four-goal run by the Colonials that included Mitterando's two unassisted goals and the game-winner by Tarascio with 8:43 to play.  Castleton State scored five of the game's final six goals to narrow the gap, but WestConn held on for a 15-13 victory. 

Freshman goalkeeper Karli Portnoy (Sea Cliff, NY) made 12 saves for the Colonials to earn her second victory of the season, while Becki Duszak (Erieville, NY) made 13 saves in a losing effort for Castleton, now 0-1 on the season.

WestConn, now 2-0 on the season, will return to action on Tuesday, March 15th, when it travels to New York for a non-conference match-up against Farmingdale State.  Game time is slated for 4:00pm.