The Belmont Abbey women's lacrosse team scored the first eight goals of the game and never looked back as Katy Connery, MacKenzie Miller and Katelin Glass each scored four goals in an easy 17-4 victory over the visiting Emmanuel Lions this afternoon at Alumni Field. Belmont Abbey, winners of two-straight, improve to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in Conference Carolinas, while the Lions drop to 1-4 overall and 0-4 in league play.

Miller netted four goals on four shots, Glass four on seven and Connery four on five as the Crusaders opened up an 8-0 lead, scoring the opening five goals on their first five shots.

The Crusaders led 10-1 at the half as the ten goals were scored on 15 shots. Miller netted three of her shots in the opening 30 minutes, while Connery and Glass scored twice. Molly Schaefer, Kassie Easter and Rebecca Luca each scored once.

Belmont Abbey continued its strong play in the second half, as it outscored the visitors 7-3 on 12 shots. Five different players scored, capped off by Erin Kunkel's marker with 34 seconds left.

Shanin Darley handed out four assists on the afternoon.

The Crusaders outshot Emmanuel 27-11 and won the draw control battle 14-9, which included an 8-3 advantage in the second half. Rebecca Stromberg led all players with seven draw control wins.

Connery, the national leader in ground balls, led all players with six while Easter added five as the Crusaders won the draw control count 29-18. Connery and Easter each caused four turnovers. Emily Smith added a pair.

Reilly Johnson made six saves on eight shots faced in 42:54. Danielle Ruffalo worked the final 17:06.

The Crusaders are now off until March 4 when it welcomes Queens to Alumni Field. First draw is 3:00 p.m.