Kianna Franklin Scores in UDC Loss at No. 15 NYIT in ECC Season Opener

OLD WESTBURY, NY – Freshman midfielder Kianna Franklin scored her team-leading 3^rd goal of the season six minutes into the game, but the University of the District of Columbia women's lacrosse team was defeated in its East Coast Conference season opener by No. 15 nationally-ranked New York Institute of Technology, 20-1 on Friday afternoon at President's Stadium.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game today. Playing No. 15 in the country is never fun when you're still building a program," Head Coach Melynda Brown said. "We went into the game focusing on the small things: draw controls, ground balls, and working through the cuts. We capitalized on what we could. We fought hard and got better today. That's all I can ask of them. I'm happy with the outcome."

The Firebirds (1-1, 0-1 ECC) took a total of five shots as a team and put three on goal. They also had eight total ground balls, nine draw controls, and were 2-of-18 on clear attempts. Sophomore midfielder Amy Rock had her team-leading 2^nd assist of the season on the lone UDC goal of the day by Franklin.

Freshman goalkeeper and reigning ECC Rookie of the Week Jada Foy stopped nine of 29 shots faced in a complete game effort for the Firebirds.

NYIT (3-0, 1-0 ECC) took 33 shots as a team, of which it put 29 on goal.  The Bears also had 28 ground balls, 13 draw controls, and 10 fewer turnovers (23-13) than UDC.  They were also a perfect 11-of-11 on clear attempts.

NYIT had 10 different goal scorers, including Alyssa Milano, Shannon Donovan and Kim Geiger with three goals apiece. Kate Znaniecki and Katie Meinecke each had four assists and two goals as well.

The Bears charged out to a 10-0 lead halfway through the opening period before UDC got on the board with Franklin's goal right around the 14-minute mark.  NYIT tacked on five more goals before halftime and led 15-1 at the break.

In the second half, NYIT out-shot UDC 8-0 as the Bears added five more goals to their total and coasted to a 20-1 victory.

Next up, UDC will host Alderson-Broaddus on Thursday, March 9^th at 3 p.m. The game will be played at Georgetown University's Cooper Field.