New Canaan, CT –

After a close first half, the Boston Storm (2-0) came out ahead of the Baltimore Ride (0-2), earning a 14-10 victory in front of fans at New Canaan High School. A balanced Boston attack led by 3 goals and 1 assist apiece from Danielle Etrasco (Boston University ’13) and Hannah Murphy (UMass ’17) sealed the deal for the Storm, while Amanda Johansen (USC ’16) paced the Ride with 3 goals and 1 assist. For the second season in a row, the third weekend of UWLX play will see two undefeated teams, the Storm and the Long Island Sound, vying to become the only remaining undefeated team.

The first half, which ended with a 7-6 Storm lead, was a back-and-forth battle filled with impressive plays on both ends of the field. Johansen put the Ride on the scoreboard early, tallying two goals within the first five minutes of play. Johansen’s efforts, combined with a tally from Sarah Mannelly (Boston College ’16) put the Ride up 3-0 early. Unrelenting, the Storm raged on, bringing the score to 3-2 after a free possession goal from McKinley Sbordone (Boston University ’10) and a well-timed Etrasco goal off a rebound.

With their early lead quickly disappearing, Johansen set up the play of the game when she found a streaking Alyssa Ferro (Towson ’17), who fired a well placed behind-the-back shot past Storm keeper Jackie Chirco (Assumption ’17) (see the goal here). The Storm struck back moments later, and goals from KK Villareal (St. Anselm ’16) and Bre Hudgins (Brown ’14) tied the score at 4 all. After three scoreless minutes, UWLX veteran Beth Glaros (Maryland ’14) setup teammate Erica Bodt (Syracuse ’16), giving the Ride the lead once again. With the Storm down 5-4, Murphy found her groove, tallying her first of three goals.

Tied with two minutes to play, Johansen once again found the back of the net, scoring her third and final goal of the evening. Determined to finish the half with a lead, the Storm’s Tanner Guarino (UMass ’14) and Sbordone struck back to back goals, giving the Storm a 7-6 lead entering the half.

To start the second half the Ride again struck early, as Karri Ellen Johnson (Maryland ’12) scored her first career UWLX goal a minute and a half in. Tied 7-7, the Storm took over the game, limiting the Ride’s offensive opportunities and scoring the next six goals. Lauren Kahn (UConn ’14) started the Storm’s momentum with a free possession goal at 24:56, followed by two goals from Murphy, a goal from Hudgins, and two more goals from Etrasco. Down 13-7 with 9 minutes remaining, the Ride showed some fight and tallied three more goals from Glaros, Johnson, and Marisa Romeo (Harvard ’17), but it was too late for a comeback. The Storm’s Ali Flury (Denver ’10) finished off Boston’s scoring.

In addition to her 3 goals, the Storm’s Hannah Murphy was very successful in the draw circle, earning a majority of the game’s draw controls. Defensivly, Chirco and Rachel Vallarelli (UMass ’15) split time in net for the Storm while Caroline Federico (Johns Hopkins ’17) was the only keeper registering time for the Ride.

Check out the Storm’s next game when they take on the Sound at 6:00pm at UMass Amherst on Friday, June 9th. The Ride’s next game is against the Force at 2:00pm at Ceder Lane Park (Bel Air, MD) on Sunday, June 11th.

Storm:

Goals: Etrasco (3), Murphy (3), Sbordone (2), Hudgins (2), Flury, Guarino, Kahn, Villareal

Ride:

Goals: Johansen (3), Johnson (2), Bodt, Ferro, Glaros, Mannelly, Romeo