WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Hartford women's lacrosse team secured their sixth consecutive win with a commanding performance over the Western New England University Golden Bears, 20-12.

Rapid Recap:

• Sophomore Madison Olmstead (Wolcott, Conn.) slammed in the first shot for the Hawks in the first 45 seconds of this match-up. This first half proved to be a battle as each team matched a goal with a goal of their own on this Friday afternoon. The Golden Bears scored within the next minute of Olmstead with a swift goal over the Hawks shoulders by Mia Celentano, 1-1. Next goal was striked by freshman Kate Zonin (North Smithfield, R.I.) who has been on fire this week, this goal assisted by Olmstead. Yet again the Golden Bears put a goal in right behind Zonin this time by Abbey Francis. Within another minute another set of equalizing goals by Olmstead and the Golden Bears, Ella Henry, now 3-3. The Hawks started to gain some distance as Olmstead put up a pair of goals within a 30-second burst, Hawks up 5-3. But in the same first quarter fashion, the Golden Bears matched Olmstead with two goals right after within a 35 second sequence. Teams tied yet again 5-5 heading into the second quarter.
• The Golden Bears built off of a good end of quarter talk to open the second with a swift man-up goal over the Hawks as Olmstead was charged with a green card within 13 seconds of play. Both teams showed off their aggression forcing failed clear attempts and having dangerous shots on net at both ends of the field. Sophomore Lauren Samela (Cheshire, Conn.) capitalized off of a man-up opp with an assist from sophomore Talei Ricketson (Centennial, Colo.) for another equalizer, 6-6. In the next minutes the Hawks showed off their skill finding the back of the net for five consecutive goals to take back this game. Goals scored by senior Meghan Smith (Orange, Conn.), Olmstead, and Samela to close out this first half up 11-6 over the Golden Bears.
• The Golden Bears were not discouraged by the Hawks impressive close to the first and opened this third quarter with three straight goals to bring down the differential to 11-9. Olmstead halts their momentum slamming one in the back of the net at 10:55 to pull away 12-9. Zonin and Ricketson continued to dominate around the net putting together pretty set pieces to extend their lead 14-9 with 8:49 remaining. Mia Celentano of the Golden Bears was fighting to stay in this battle as she capitalized on a man-up opportunity attempting to chip away at this large lead set by the Hawks. Smith closed out this third quarter continuing to command this game and swung in a pair of goals with assists from Zonin and Olmstead, 16-10.
• The Hawks closed out this final quarter and continued to maintain possession and control this game. The Golden Bears only attempt to bring this lead down was to foul in the front of the net, but that is where the Hawks were dangerous. The Hawks scored four more goals in the fourth only allowing two. In this high scoring game the Hawks used the entire field and were tactile offensively. With that being said, junior Samantha Ciaglo (Colchester, Conn.) locked down the field defensively to pull off this Friday afternoon win. The nabbed their sixth consecutive win with an impressive final score 20-12.

Post Game Press: 
"This win felt really good and we played well together as a team," said sophomore Madison Olmstead (Wolcott, Conn.). "Western New England University is a great team so this win was important for us. Our defense stepped up today. They brought us the ball everywhere we needed on the attack, we looked for each other on the cuts, and we just buried the ball. Samantha Ciaglo is such a stone defender she runs the ball up every time, looking for the man on attack, and I think she is a major asset to the team all around. This win will give us really good momentum to face off our last opponent in the regular season and as we head into playoffs."

Inside The Numbers:

• Olmstead had a strong performance today with seven goals her new season-high, three assists, tallying 10 points. Smith totaled five goals, two assists, picked up one ground ball, nabbed 11 draw controls, and caused one turnover. Samela knocked down three goals today and caused one turnover.
• Sophomore Mandi Rivard (Vernon, Conn.) had twelve saves in today's face-off to hold the defense strong. 

Up Next:
The Hawks will conclude their regular season on the road this Wednesday April 23rd  to take on Suffolk University at 7:00 p.m. in Boston, Mass.

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