8/24/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College women's soccer fell in its season-opener, 11-0, to Hagerstown CC on Saturday afternoon at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore.
 
The Falcons (0-1-0), playing with ten players, struggled to slow down the relentless attack from the Hawks (1-0-0), as Hagerstown possessed the ball and really put the Lackawanna defense to the test. True Benshoff had four goals and was joined in her hattrick by Alexis Linetty, who had three goals and one assist. Peyton Miller had a goal and three assists. Melanie Shumway (Rome, PA) had four shots on target for the Falcons, while keeper Lindsey Tasker (Clarks Summit, PA) had eleven saves, making some athletic plays in-between the pipes.
 
After an initial attack from the Falcons down the right side fizzled out, Hagerstown got on the board when Miller got a ball played in from the left side, and smashed a shot that hit Tasker's gloves and deflected into the net for the first goal of the game, four minutes in. The Hawks would put up five more in the first half, really breaking through the Falcons with three goals in six minutes near the mid-way point of the opening frame, all from Benshoff. Two more goals came in the final nine minutes to give Hagerstown a 6-0 lead at the break.
 
A goal just four minutes into the second half from Linetty looked like it might spell more doom for the Falcons, but Lackawanna defended well from there, with Tasker parrying plenty of attacks, and the Lackawanna defense stepping into passing lanes. Eventually, in the 73^rd minute, the attack became too much, and Hagerstown scored the first of four goals over the final 17 minutes of play.
 
Hagerstown had 36 shots and nine corner kicks on the afternoon, while the Falcons had five shots for the game.
 
Lackawanna College has a bit of a break before its next contest, an away match at Lehigh Carbon CC on Thursday, September 12^th. Kickoff is set for 2:00pm ET in Schnecksville, PA.