MADISON, N.J. – The Drew University women's lacrosse team captured the Battle of Madison Avenue with an 18-6 victory over cross-town rival FDU-Florham in a non-conference matchup Saturday afternoon in Ranger Stadium.
 
The Rangers (3-2) took control right from the start, racing out to a 6-1 first-quarter lead before breaking the game open with an 8-0 run spanning the second and third quarters.
 
Drew outshot the Devils 54-13 and held a 29-10 advantage in ground balls.
 
A number of Rangers turned in big performances, including junior Grace Patane, who notched six goals and two assists. Senior Aubrey Welch added four goals, one assist, four ground balls, and four draw controls, and classmate Emma Gallaro contributed three goals and seven ground balls. Freshman Regina Williams tacked on a pair of goals while sophomore Hayden Scotti posted one goal, four assists, and four ground balls.
 
Freshman Gianna Paz paced the defense with five caused turnovers and four ground balls while senior Emily Monaco registered three CTs and three GBs. Sophomore Kristina Lowe added six draw controls.
 
In goal, junior Paige Shaw started and made two saves in the opening half. Sophomore Rorrie Sifers collected three saves without allowing a goal in the third quarter before freshman Annie Durante made one stop in the final period.
 
Julianna Medina scored three goals for FDU (1-2) while Alison Kozik made 20 saves.
 
It was a 1-1 game early before the Rangers scored five straight, including two apiece from Gallaro and Patane. The Devils scored the final goal of the quarter to make it a 6-2 game.
 
FDU netted two of the first three goals of the third quarter to narrow the gap to 7-4 with 8:18 left in the opening half, but that's when Drew erupted with its decisive eight-goal run. The Rangers scored the last four goals of the first half, with the first two coming from Williams, to go up 11-4 at the break. Patane then settled any doubt when he tossed in three straight goals over the opening seven and a half minutes of the third quarter, triggering the 10-goal running clock into effect.
 
Patane then assisted junior Madi Strong to cap the run and put Drew up 15-4 with 5:34 left in the third quarter. Welch notched her final two goals midway the fourth quarter while Gallaro scored the game's final goal in the closing minutes.
 
The Rangers are back in action next Saturday, when they visit Russel Sage College in a non-conference tilt starting at noon.