Box Score Lafayette Hill, Pa. - (3/10/2015) – After their first four scheduled games were postponed due to weather, the Chestnut Hill College women's lacrosse team finally got the 2015 campaign underway when Queens College (N.Y.) invaded Victory Field #1 this afternoon. Though the rain stuck around for another day, it was a second-half deluge that powered the Griffins all the way back from a six-goal, second-half deficit to an 11-10 victory in a soggy season opener. Sophomore midfielder Jacklyn O'Leary (East Meadow, N.Y.) assisted on the tying goal and netted the game-winner herself with 1:33 remaining to hand Chestnut Hill College its first triumphant season opener in at least a decade.
 
Despite playing without an available substitute, it was Queens College (0-1) that shocked the home side with a fast start, taking a 3-0 lead just shy of the 20-minute mark (20:30) on a tally by sophomore attack Angela Acevedo (Huntington Station, N.Y.). Chestnut Hill College (1-0) finally dented the scoreboard on the stick of freshman midfielder Erica McLaughlin (Magnolia, N.J.), whose first career strike on a free-position shot made it 3-1 (17:02). The Knights answered with a pair of goals in a 22-second span to grab a four-goal advantage before junior midfielder Emorie Keimig (Freeland, Md.) fought back with a marker of her own, 5-2 (11:55). After freshman midfielder Hunter Leckonby (Charleston, S.C.) found the back of the net for her first goal, 6-3 (1:34), Queens College senior attack Taylor Martello (Carle Place, N.Y.) had a hand in two late connections as the visitors stunned the Griffins with an 8-3 bulge going into halftime.
 
Chestnut Hill College found itself trailing 9-3 on a Knights goal at 26:48, but would not be denied after that. The Griffins scored six unanswered goals on a tiring Queens College squad, starting the rally with a strike by sophomore midfielder Rachel Perry (Gilbertsville, Pa.), 9-4 (26:03). Leckonby delivered the next three markers, scoring back-to-back goals before setting up sophomore midfielder Lea Sanders (North Merrick, N.Y.) for another, 9-7 (14:11). O'Leary netted an unassisted goal, 9-8 (7:18), before freshman midfielder Julia Galantich (Clinton Corners, N.Y.) completed the Griffins uphill trek with the first of her career, 9-9 (5:32). Queens College regained the upper hand on a tally by Martello, 10-9 (3:26), but Sanders equalized 43 ticks later on a feed from O'Leary, 10-10 (2:43), setting up a wild finish.  
 
After McLaughlin forced a Knights turnover, O'Leary gave Chestnut Hill College its first and only lead of the afternoon, 11-10, with 1:33 left. The Knights had a golden opportunity to send the game to overtime, but Martello's breakaway attempt was stoned by sophomore goalkeeper Katie Joe Lang (Manassas, Va.) with 16 seconds remaining and the Griffins ran out the clock.

Martello led all players with six points on four goals and a pair of assists, while freshman attack Mary Pat Gibble (Whitehouse Station, N.J.) produced four points (two goals and two assists) and senior attack Alyssa McCormick (Bellmore, N.Y.) offered three (two goals and one assist). Junior goalkeeper Kristen Ancona (East Islip, N.Y.) (0-1) acquitted herself well between the pipes, collecting 13 saves and giving the Knights a chance despite a 36-17 shot advantage for the Griffins, who held a 21-6 margin in that category in the second half. Queens College was clinically efficient on the shots it did take, scoring on 58.8% of them (10-of-17).
 
Leckonby paced Chestnut Hill College with a four-point effort (three goals and one assist) in her collegiate debut, and O'Leary finished with two goals in addition to an assist and a game-best five draw controls. Sanders picked up a team-high five ground balls and found the back of the net twice, and her two-point output was matched by Keimig and Galantich, who scored one goal and set up another in her debut. In all, Griffin rookies combined for five goals, two assists, six ground balls, and six caused turnovers. Junior midfielder Courtney Weidner (Philadelphia, Pa.) captained the defensive effort with three caused turnovers, while Galantich, Leckonby, McLaughlin, and freshman Jaida Zabala (East Meadow, N.Y.) recorded two each. Lang (1-0) made four saves, including the game-clinching stop in the final moments.
 
Chestnut Hill College is back in action on Thursday, March 12, with a 3:00 p.m. non-conference game at East Stroudsburg University.