Springfield, Mass. - April 22, 2015 - Benefitting from seven unanswered goals in the opening half, the Springfield College women's lacrosse team defeated Emerson College 15-5 on Wednesday night at Stagg Field, en route to a program-record 14th win of the season.

With the win, Springfield, which was ranked No. 20 in the latest Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) National Poll, closes the 2015 regular season with an overall record of 14-2, and an unblemished 8-0 record in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). With the loss, Emerson falls to 8-6 on the season and 3-5 in league play.

Springfield was led by four-point performances from Heather Raniolo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), who posted a game-high four goals, and Bianca Raniolo (Yorktown, N.Y.), who registered two goals and a pair of assists in the victory. In net, Gabriella Anderson (Mahopac, N.Y.) held the Lions scoreless in the opening half, before Carley Elkin (Guilford, Conn.) came on in the second and recorded five saves.

For Emerson, Guerin Morissette (Georgetown, Maine) notched a team-best four points, including a goal and three assists, while Meredith Weber (West Caldwell, N.J.) posted three goals in the loss. In between the pipes, Victoria Kanaris (Haworth, N.J.) tallied a game-high 13 stops.

Springfield jumped out to an early 4-0 lead over the opening 13:31 of the contest, including goals from Heather Raniolo, Kerstin Lindrooth (Bryn Athyn, Pa.) and a pair from Michelle Dorsey(Wilbraham, Mass.).

With 9:21 remaining in the opening half, Lindrooth tacked on her second goal of the contest with a free-position strike, before Heather Raniolo and freshman Kayla Shroeher (Riverhead, N.Y.) each found the back of the net to give Springfield a 7-0 lead heading into the break.

Bianca Raniolo opened the second half with a goal just 1:47 into the stanza when she fired a shot past Kanaris to push the Pride's lead to eight.

With 19:56 remaining in the contest, Emerson got on the board when Weber dodged through the middle of the Springfield defense and bounced a shot past Elkin, before Morissette struck 28 seconds later to cut the Lions' deficit to six.

Midway through the second half, Springfield regained its seven-goal lead when Emily Rodgers (Durham, N.H.) found Shelby Corsano (Bourne, Mass.) in the crease for a point-blank shot and goal to make it 9-1, Springfield, with 16:40 remaining.

Krull and Bianca Raniolo netted back-to-back goals to give Springfield an 11-2 lead with 12:10 remaining, before Weber scored her second of the contest to keep the Lions within eight. Krull tacked on another goal after finishing off a feed from Bianca Raniolo, before Corsano picked up a loose ball and found the back of the net to give Springfield a ten-goal lead with 6:56 remaining.

Heather Raniolo would strike twice in the remaining minutes of the contest to push Springfield's lead to 15-4, until Tara Windsor (Palm City, Fla.) brought the Lions back to within 10 with a strike with 38 seconds remaining.