Pintimalli scores first two career goals in R’ville’s victory over Pennington

ROBBINSVILLE » Andrea Pintimalli has spent her entire lacrosse career on the defensive side of the field, but naturally every now and then she’d wonder what it would be like to be on the attack.

So, when Robbinsville was bitten by the injury bug, Pintimalli figured what could it hurt to ask.

Pintimalli got her opportunity and made the most of it scoring a pair of goals for the Ravens in a 7-5 win over Pennington on Monday in a little rain, a little wind and an otherwise typical chilly spring day at Robbinsville’s Steven J. Mayer Athletic Complex.

“I asked the coach to give me a chance and I really want to prove I can score,” said Pintimalli, who has been a threeyear starter for the Ravens on defense. “I came out and cut, set picks and I just wanted to help the team win in any way that I could. Scoring was very big for me.”

Pintimalli’s two goals were the first of her solid career, and they were even bigger for the Ravens as they snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 3-4.

Three of the losses in the streak were by one goal.

“Andrea has been a great leader this season and I knew she has the determination to want to win,” said Ravens coach JennaMarie Colicchia. “If she was willing to run the whole field I was going to let her, and she really came through strong.”

Injuries to both teams have forced them into a possession game and it proved to be a game of making the most of the chances. Robbinsville led by three only to see the Red Raiders (4-2) tie it at the half at 3-3. Early in the second half, it was 4-4 before the Ravens scored three and kept Pennington at a distance with a Laura Redler save and caused turnover in the final seconds.

“We handled the defensive end very well,” said Pennington coach Wendy Morris. “We have to build on that and we have to get better on the attack. We had a tough loss last Friday (Hopewell Valley) and now we have to get things back on track.”

The Ravens got a pair of goals from Ava Lake and Megan Testa with Rachael Sepcic getting one goal. Alex Civitello and Ava Zoltanski had assists for the Ravens.

Just as important were the nine saves by Redler. It was her play early that set the tempo.

Pennington saw Maddi Seibel score three to reach 30 goals on the season while Madison Brown and Olivia Mahony each tallied one goal. Seibel also had a pair of assists. Amanda Kenrick had five saves for Pennington.

Every time it looked like the Red Raiders were closing the gap, Redler came up with a big save. She had three saves early that allowed the Ravens to grab the lead and then a pair in the final minutes kept them in front.

“I know it all comes down to me making a save at some point so I’m always working to be ready,” said Redler, a four-year starter in the cage for the Ravens. “Once I can make a few saves I’m on my game and ready to go. This is my senior year and we are ready to win.”

Pennington (4-2) Robbinsville (3-4) Goals —

Seibel 3, Mahony, Brown (TPS). Pintimalli 2, Testa 2, Lake 2, Sepcic (R). Seibel 2 (TPS). Cvitello, Zoltanski (R).

14 (TPS). 17 (R). Kenrick 5 (TPS). Redler 9 (R).

Assists — Shots — Saves — 3 2—5 3 4—7