GLENSIDE, Pa., Friday, Mar. 4, 2011--  Sophomore Meghan Fallon scored seven goals and tacked on an assist to lead Arcadia University Women's Lacrosse to their season opening 15-7 victory over visiting Cazenovia College (N.Y.) on a blustery Friday afternoon in Glenside. Arcadia jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the opening ten minutes and held an 8-1 advantage at the break. Arcadia would allow the Wildcats in on the fun, giving the visitors six second half goals however the Knights scored seven in the second stanza and remained in control of the game until the final buzzer. 

Arcadia earned the advantage in shots 26-21 and committed four less turnovers (16-20) while the Wildcats edged the Knights in ground ball possession 37-36. Junior keeper Amalie Kreitman made the start in the cage, allowed just one goal to the Wildcats and finished the first half with six saves for her first win of the season. First-year Deanna Thompson saw action as the Knight's second half keeper, making three stops with six allowed goals. Sophomore Christina Marra made nine saves through 60 minutes for the Wildcats in the loss.

Today's win is the first for first-year head coach Erin Livingston. Livingston's squad which today included eight players with experience as starters and a talented group of newcomers gained an early 3-0 advantage before capitalizing on three unanswered man-up goals thanks to a slashing penalty by Cazenovia in the tenth minute of play. The Knights would go up 8-0 before the Wildcats would finally convert one with 3:15 to play in the half.  Fallon netted five of her seven scores in the first frame, including the opening goal off a free-position attempt and the closing score off an assist from senior Kreena Patel. Fallon would close the team's scoring with five minutes to play in the game with her second free-position tally and also picked up an assist off senior Jen Ng's first goal of the season. Ng finished with a goal and two assists. Junior Stephanie Holguin, who scored three times in the first half, finished the game with four goals and dished out an assist. 

“Amalie did a great job in the first half, making some keys stops to preserve our lead,” says Livingston. “She also had some nice clears to ignite the midfield. It was good to see Fallon create some nice scoring opportunities early in the game. Some credit to Cazenovia for making some defensive changes in the second half to stop [Fallon] but it was great to see our other offensive threats pitch in with scoring. Steph [Holguin] made some great drives to the cage and made some nice plays on the defensive end. It's a good way to set the tone early here with a win after starting last season 0-6.” 

Aiding the defensive game was senior Kaitlyn Gamber with five caused turnovers and six ground balls.  First-year Katie Bauer made her first collegiate start in the midfield, forcing three Cazenovia turnovers while picking up five ground balls. Senior Kelly Donahue also caused three Wildcat turnovers and added six ground balls for the Knights. Senior Kristen Chasse scored twice on her only two shots on goal and speedy newcomer Sara Volk-Perez, making her first collegiate start on attack, added a goal and an assist in her debut. 

Cazenovia, who plays at Gwynedd-Mercy College tomorrow, was led by junior Christy Foster's four goals while senior Nicole Kimmel netted three. 

The Knights open Middle Atlantic Conference play on March 8 at FDU-Florham at 4 p.m. and return home to host non-conference foe Immaculata University March 10 at 4 p.m.