Darrell Nets Pair Of Goals, Stone Makes Eight Saves As Top-Ranked Women's Lacrosse Sees NCAA Record 36-Match Win Streak End With Tough 6-5 Non-League Setback To Third-Ranked Adelphi
April 8, 2006
STONEHILL WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Saturday, April 8, 2006
W.B. Mason Stadium, Easton, Mass.
FINAL:ADELPHI 6, STONEHILL 5
12Total
Adelphi (7-0)24- 6
Stonehill (9-1)23- 5
SCORING SUMMARY
ADL GOALS:Rachel Ray (3), Diana Lopez, Dawn Anselmin, Meghan Blume
STO GOALS:Kristin Darrell (2), Jenny McGrath, Erin Acone, Christa LaRocco
ADL ASSISTS:NoneSTO ASSIST:McGrath
GOALIE SAVES
ADL:Allyson Murphy-9
STO:Lauren Stone-8
EASTON, Mass.-- Freshman Rachel Ray's (Rocky Point, N.Y.) third goal of the game with 1:17 remaining proved to be the game-winner as third-ranked Adelphi ended top-ranked Stonehill's NCAA Division II record 36-match winning streak with a come-from-behind 6-5 non-league college women's lacrosse victory Saturday afternoon at W.B. Mason Stadium.
With the visiting Panthers (7-0) trailing 5-4 in the closing minutes, Ray converted a free position shot with 3:14 remaining to even the score, and she then tallied the game-winner less than two minutes later following a turnover to complete her hat trick. The host Skyhawks (9-1), whose last defeat came on April 18, 2004 at the hands of C.W. Post, had a pair of chances to force overtime in the closing seconds on a pair of free position shots by senior All-America Erin Acone (Bow, N.H.), but the second sailed wide as time expired.
A match-up of two of the highest scoring teams in the nation quickly emerged as a defensive struggle, as Adelphi got on the board first on senior Dawn Anselmin's (Lynbrook, N.Y.) goal before Acone netted a free position shot to even matters for Stonehill in the first 5:15 of action. Ray's first goal of the game at the 9:13 mark gave the Panthers a 2-1 cushion they would hold for most of the half until senior All-America Jenny McGrath's (Milton, Mass.) goal with 15 seconds remaining in the half enabled the Skyhawks to forge a 2-2 tie at the break.
Adelphi used a pair of goals off the sticks of juniors Meghan Blume (Bel Air, Md.) and Diana Lopez (Farmingdale, N.Y.) to take a 4-2 lead with just over 20 minutes to play, but sophomore All-America Kristin Darrell (West Islip, N.Y.) evened matters for Stonehill with a pair of goals, the second coming with 13:26 remaining, and fellow sophomore Christa LaRocco's (West Islip, N.Y.) free position conversion gave the Skyhawks a 5-4 lead with 10:27 to play, setting up Ray's late heroics.
Junior Allyson Murphy (Williston Park, N.Y.) picked up the win in goal for Adelphi with a nine-save effort, while senior All-America Lauren Stone (Guilderland, N.Y.) saw her personal 32-match winning streak come to an end in making eight stops in net for Stonehill as the Panthers held a slim 24-23 edge in shots on goal for the contest. The two teams combined for 35 turnovers and 11 failed clears in the defensive battle, as Adelphi claimed just its second win in six series meetings between the two schools and their first since last year's NCAA national semi-final contest won by Stonehill.
Stonehill hosts Southern Connecticut in a Northeast-10 Conference match on Wednesday afternoon at W.B. Mason Stadium beginning at 3:30 p.m., while Adelphi heads to Springfield, Mass. on Sunday afternoon to take on American International in a non-league match that begins at Noon.