La Plume, Pa. – Marywood University used a strong defensive effort after jumping out to an big lead early on its way to a 17-0 victory over Keystone College in Colonial States Athletic Conference women's lacrosse action on Wednesday afternoon.  The Pacers improve to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in conference play while the Giants slip to 2-4 overall and 0-2 in the CSAC.      
 
Marywood opened up a 6-0 advantage over the first 10 minutes of Wednesday's contest and added two more to hold an eight goal lead midway through the first half.  The Pacers tacked on two more markers in the final 6:49 to hold a 10-0 cushion at halftime.
 
The visitors outshot Keystone by a 24-6 margin over the first 30 minutes of play and kept the Giants off the scoreboard courtesy of six saves from goalie Lauren Smith.
 
Marywood pulled away in the second half by getting seven goals from six different players while Smith added three more stops to earn the shutout victory with a total of nine saves in a strong showing.
 
Natalie Burke led the Pacers with five points on two goals and three assists, Sam Bussinelli scored four goals, and Erin Healy recorded two goals and two assists in the win. 
 
Daphne Leenas (Ringwood, N.J./Lakeland Regional) suffered the loss in Keystone's cage despite making a game-high 16 saves on the afternoon.
 
Kelly Smith (Honesdale, Pa./Honesdale) led the Giants with three groundballs on the day while Leenas picked up a pair of groundballs.  Leenas and Amy Llewellyn (Plains, Pa./Coughlin) added caused turnovers while Emily Hawkins (Glenside, Pa./Cheltenham) paced the squad with seven shots and four draw controls.  April Llewellyn (Plains, Pa./Coughlin) added a pair of shots on goal in the loss.
 
Marywood finished the game with a 36-11 advantage in shots and a 30-11 lead in groundballs.  The Pacers also held a slim, 10-9 edge in draw controls.
 
Keystone will be back in action on Saturday afternoon with a CSAC tilt against Centenary University starting at 1:00 p.m. on the turf field in La Plume.