Box Score
Six players scored at least two goals, while Katie Hammerer made 12 saves, as the 15th-ranked Moccasins defeated Belmont Abbey 17-6 Wednesday afternoon at Bryant Stadium. With the win Florida Southern remains undefeated and improves its win streak to five games, while Belmont Abbey falls to 2-2.
Katie Ferree got the Moccasins started by winning the opening draw control. On the ensuing possession Maureen Cromer found Ferree cutting towards the cage for a goal, giving the Mocs a 1-0 lead 38 seconds into the game. The Crusaders responded a minute later as Laura Dowd scored a man-up goal to tie the game 1-1. Danielle LaDuca and Caitlin Chase scored back-to-back goals to give the Mocs a 3-1 advantage.
After the two teams traded goals, Dowd’s shot got past the goalie to cut the deficit to 4-3, which is the closest the Crusaders got to tying the game the rest of the way. The Moccasins scored four unanswered goals, including two from Lorianne Hoover, to take a 8-3 lead with 8:03 remaining in the first half. After a Crusader goal, LaDuca and Chase scored back-to-back goals in the final seconds of the first half to extend the Mocs' lead to 10-4.
Four minutes into the second half Chase’s shot connected with the back of the cage for her second hat trick of the season. After the two teams traded goals, Rebecca Diggs scored a free position goal for Belmont Abbey to cut the lead to 12-6. The Moccasins then scored five unanswered goals for the 17-6 final.
Hammerer made 10 of her 12 saves in the second half, including stopping five straight shots.
Hoover led the Moccasins with four goals, while LaDuca tallied three goals and three assists. Megan Asper, Mara Mason, and Ferree each scored two goals and had two assists in the contest.
The Moccasins return to action Saturday, when they host Notre Dame College (Ohio) at Bryant Stadium at 11 a.m.
