By Thomas Scavetta
Staff Writer 
Despite holding onto a slim 4-3 lead at the intermission, the No. 1 ranked Pioneers opened up the second half on a tear as they capped off a 9-1 run to secure their first victory of the 2014 season Saturday at Hickox Field, in Brookville, N.Y. with 14-7 over Bloomsburg.
The Pioneers got off to a hot start with two goals within the first seven minutes, courtesy of senior midfielder Katie Rotan. They continued to play with fire as sophomore attacker Emily Delaney tacked on an unassisted goal at the 12:32 mark in the first half. Post was playing with a lot of fire, and had an early 8-2 advantage in shots. As the first half came to a close, the Pioneers needed to regroup as they began to lose some momentum after Bloomsburg narrowed the early deficit with two goals from junior attacker Julie Falk, and an unassisted goal by junior attacker Patrice Coleman at the 27:19 mark. At the half, Post dominated in shots 13-8, but Bloomsburg had gained some confidence by scoring three of the last four tallies in the period.
The Lady Pioneers remained aggressive on the field and began to take complete control, despite the freezing conditions. They capitalized on every scoring opportunity en route to a 9-1 spark to blow up the game in the early stages of the second half. Senior attacker/ midfielder Samantha Losco nicked three quick goals. In addition to Losco›s dominant performance, senior attacker Jackie Sileo and senior midfielder Katie Rotan accounted for two goals apiece during the run.
Losco (4 G, 1 A) and Sileo (3 G, 2 A) each had five points leading the scoring for the Pioneers. Sileo completed her hat trick at the 26:10 mark of the second half. Rotan also had a very impressive game accumulating four goals and four draw controls. Freshman defender/midfielder Cara Douglas also chipped in with her first collegiate goal at the 21:34 mark of the second half. The Pioneers’ defense played a huge factor, led by senior defender Melissa Rohr, who demonstrated excellent leadership skills with great communication along with senior goalkeeper Katie Hannan, who had 12 saves in the pen. Rohr gathered four ground balls to lead the squad.
The top-ranked Pioneers had the edge in shots (29-22) and ground balls (15-8). Bloomsburg controlled the draw clash (14-9). The Pioneers were also very efficient on clears (17-19) and made (1-2) free position shots. The Huskies (0-1), led by former LIU Post All-American Mallory Poole, were unable to hang around after the green and gold immediately flew away with the lead in the second half.
Meghan McNamara, Pioneers head coach, achieved her 100th-career victory with Saturday’s win. McNamara coached an outstanding game and is now only four wins shy of Karen MacCrate, who coached the LIU Post women›s Lacrosse team from its inauguration season in 2000 through the 2007 season.
McNamara and the top-ranked Pioneers will collide with No 4. Le Moyne, Wednesday March 5th, at Hickox Field. The opening draw is slated for 3 p.m.
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