DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (March 9, 2024) – A career-high six-goal afternoon from junior Gianna Russo (Wake Forest, N.C.) led the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy women's lacrosse team to a 15-6 win over Delaware Valley on Saturday in the Mariners' first game of their Spring Break trip. The win in Doylestown gives USMMA a 2-1 record on the season, while the Aggies fell to 2-1 on the year.
 
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• Box Score 

First-year midfielder Grace Picozzi (Collegeville, Pa.) won the opening draw control for the Mariners and recorded the game's first shot, an effort that went wide of the cage with just under 90 seconds gone from the clock. Following a DelVal turnover, Russo netted her first goal off a pass from first-year Leslie Wysong (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) to put the Mariners ahead. The junior would then tally her second goal after the hosts picked up a green card, with the marker on the advantage doubling USMMA's lead with five minutes elapsed from the frame. The Aggies had their best chance to cut the deficit in half with a free-position attempt from Susan Rawding that was stopped by sophomore goalie Karianna Eagle (Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) with just over eight minutes to play in the frame. The ensuing clear on defense led to Picozzi besting DelVal keeper Emily Drake after a pass from junior midfielder Lauren Jablonowski (Levittown, N.Y.) and senior Kaitlyn Latchaw (Phoenix, Md.) scored just over a minute later to put the Mariners up by a four-goal margin. Rawding got the Eagles on the scoreboard on a free-position attempt with four minutes to play in the frame, but that was the last goal scored by either side in the quarter as USMMA held a 4-1 lead after one period.
 
Russo and Jablonowski connected on back-to-back goals to open the scoring in the second period, with the former being assisted by sophomore attacker Emma Barnes (Chillicothe, Ohio) as USMMA held a 6-1 lead with eleven-and-a-half minutes to go until halftime. The defense held serve for the Mariners for the next several minutes even with Rawding scoring her second goal of the game for the Aggies. USMMA would go into the halftime break up 7-3 as Picozzi and DelVal's Ashley Birmingham traded markers to close the scoring account for both teams in the first half of action. The Aggies opened the second half with a goal on the advantage from Samantha Charles, but the deficit would get no lower than three goals for the remainder of the game. Picozzi and Jablonowski would each net a goal in the third quarter with Russo adding two, including a final-minute marker that gave the Mariners an 11-5 lead going into the final period of play. The dominance continued for USMMA over the final fifteen minutes of play with Barnes scoring twice in the fourth quarter along with goals from Latchaw and Russo to close out the successful victory for the Mariners to open their spring break trip.
 
Russo's six goals came on six shots on goal (seven shots overall) with Jablonowski collecting five points on the strength of two goals and three assists along with three draw controls and two ground balls. Latchaw posted a four-point day with two goals and two assists while accumulating six ground ball pickups as Picozzi added three goals, seven draw controls, and five ground balls. Barnes accrued three ground balls along with her three-point day (two goals, one assist) as senior attacker Reagan Jetter (La Jolla, Calif.) also accumulated four ground balls in the victory. Wysong won six draw controls for the Mariners and added five ground balls and an assist while first-year attacker Ainsley Carlon (Gilbert, Ariz.) collected three ground balls and the first point of her collegiate career with an assist. Eagle collected the win in cage for the Mariners with three saves as USMMA outshot DelVal by a 29-10 margin in the win.
 
Rawding's three goals paced the Aggies as Kyra McKeegan added a goal and two assists. The two combined for twelve ground balls (six apiece) and Drake stopped seven shots in net for the hosts in the loss.
 
The Spring Break trip for USMMA continues and concludes on Tuesday, March 12, as the Mariners face the Camels of Connecticut College in a game hosted at the headquarters of USA Lacrosse in Sparks, Md. The opening draw from Tierney Field is set for 12 p.m. Live stats for the game will be available with links on the USMMA Women's Lacrosse Schedule Page.
 
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