KEENE, N.H. - The Hartford women's lacrosse team improved to 2-3 on the young season defeating Keene State College by a 13-7 final. Sophomore Kate Zonin (North Smithfield, R.I.) led the way scoring a career-high eight goals in the victory. 

Rapid Recap:

• Senior Sara Costa (Shrub Oak, N.Y.) kicked things off scoring her ninth goal of the year 90 seconds into the game as Hartford led 1-0. The Owls would score three of the next four goals to take a 3-2 advantage over the next seven minutes. Zonin had the other Hawk goal in a man-up situation at the 10:28 mark. The teams would trade turnovers the rest of the first quarter as the home team held the one goal advantage into the second. 
• Zonin started off the second quarter strong scoring three-straight for Hartford over the first two and a half minutes as the Hawks led 5-3. Junior Mandi Rivard (Vernon, Conn.) made a pair of huge saves in the second to keep the Hawks in front. Keene would finally get back on the board with 7:14 to go to cut the deficit to one. Costa would answer four minutes later as Hartford took a 6-4 lead into the intermission. 
• The teams went scoreless for the first six and a half minutes out of halftime before junior Laurel McIntosh (West Kingston, R.I.) finished a free position to give the Hawks another three goal lead. Tess Brown would respond in a man-up goal followed by another for the Owls as the lead was back to 7-6 with 6:07 to play in the third. Zonin would register another goal to get the advantage back to two with 15 minutes to play. 
• Senior Courtney Ingham (Bedford, N.H.) added the ninth goal of the day for the visitors 23 seconds into the fourth quarter on a feed from McIntosh. The Owls would respond a couple of minutes later, but Hartford punched back with four-consecutive goals to finish off Keene State. McIntosh would score the first of the run while Zonin scored the other three to add to her career-game. 

Post Game Press:
"It felt great to get out there and put some goals in the back of the net", said sophomore Kate Zonin (North Smithfield, R.I.). "That said, a lot of the credit goes to my teammates. If our defense isn't making stops and we're not winning the draw, I don't even get the opportunity to create those scoring chances. It was truly a full team effort. Looking ahead to next week's games, we're focused on bringing the same energy and determination to come out strong against Wentworth and SUNY Plattsburgh. We're excited for the challenge and ready to keep building on this momentum."

Inside The Numbers:

• Zonin registered the new career-high with eight goals in the win to go with five more draw controls. McIntosh tallied three points on two goals and an assist. Costa added two scores, while Ingham put home the other goal in the win. 
• Junior Lauren Samela (Cheshire, Conn.) led the defensive effort causing four turnovers in the midfield, while adding five grounders. Seven other Hawks added a single caused turnover. 
• Rivard stopped eight shots in her 15th career win. The next win will put Mandi as the all-time wins leader in program history. 
• Tess Brown led the Owls with a goal, three assists and eight caused turnovers. 
•  Hartford out shot the Owls by a 28-20 margin with a 19-13 on target differential. Draw controls were all knotted up at 10-10, while each team only had a single free position goal. 

Up Next:
The Hawks will head home for the first time this season, hosting Wentworth Insititute of Technology in the Conference of New England (CNE) opener on March 17th with a 3:00 PM start.

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