West Long Branch, N.J. – The Youngstown State women's lacrosse team dropped its first road contest of the season Sunday morning vs. Monmouth, 17-7, ahead of an upcoming blizzard on the East Coast.
YSU was led offensively by the duo of Maya Griffin and Ally Garrett, who scored two goals each. Claire Baenizger, Lilly Mattucci, and Molly Brooks each added one goal for the 'Guins.
Defensively, Skylar Pigrom led YSU with team-highs in both ground balls with four and caused turnovers with two. Baenziger and Mackenzie Flannigan each corralled three ground balls on the day.
Brooke Harper subbed in at the beginning of the second quarter and finished the game with a team-high seven saves over her 45 minutes of action in the cage.
The Hawks led for over 59 minutes of the contest, netting the game's first goal at the 14:06 mark of the first quarter, a goal that started a 6-0 run to begin the game. YSU's lone goal of the opening frame came at the 2:42 mark from Claire Baenizger, before Monmouth added two more goals to take an 8-1 lead into the second quarter.
Maya Griffin continued her strong start to her YSU career, striking a shot to the low corner of the cage to bring the deficit back down to six with 7:45 left in the second quarter. Brooke Harper subbed in as the goalkeeper at the beginning of the quarter and held a clean sheet for the first eight-plus minutes before the Hawks were able to score at the 6:17 mark, their ninth goal of the game. Monmouth added another goal before Ally Garrett scored with just four seconds remaining in the quarter, bringing the score to 10-3 heading into halftime. The Penguins settled in during the second quarter, outshooting the Hawks 8-7, after being outshot 14-3 in the opening quarter.
Garrett continued her aggressiveness into the second half, netting another goal with 7:19 remaining in the third quarter to answer a Monmouth goal, bringing the deficit to 11-4. The Hawks tacked on another goal to take a 12-4 lead into the final frame.
The Penguins' freshmen contributed strongly in the fourth quarter offensively, as Griffin added her second goal with 10:57 remaining in regulation, Lilly Mattucci netted her second goal of the season after a Hawks goal to cut the lead to 13-6 with 7:47 remaining, and Molly Brooks scored the second goal of her first collegiate campaign with 4:14 remaining, making the score 14-7. Monmouth added three goals over the final few minutes, winning by a score of 17-7.
YSU will remain on the road, traveling to Baltimore, MD., taking on UMBC on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The opening draw is scheduled for 4 p.m.
For news and updates throughout the 2026 women's lacrosse season, follow @YSUwlax on X.
