Sophomore Sarah Galligan leads the Skyhawks in scoring this season. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr). |
Stonehill Must Ace Adelphi to Advance
by Chris Gentilviso | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
When the Stonehill women's lacrosse
team entered its 2010 campaign, the Skyhawks expected the regular
season road to grow a little tougher.
With Adelphi (16-1) joining the Northeast-10 conference, there was
a guaranteed game against the defending national champions and an
impending battle for the right to be named the conference's
best.
The unexpected? That battle has lasted to when it really counts:
the NCAA tournament.
"I feel like I know them almost as much as we know ourselves,"
Stonehill head coach Katie Lambert-Conover said. "Three times in one
season? That's a lot to play one team, especially two weekends
back-to-back in a tournament setting like this."
One week ago, the Panthers secured a 14-13 overtime victory in the
NE-10 tournament championship, snapping the Skyhawks' streak of
nine straight titles.
Stonehill (13-3) was on its way
back to Easton, Mass., unsure of whether its season would
continue.
Just after 10 p.m. Eastern, the NCAA committee hit the rewind
button, sending the Skyhawks back to Garden City, N.Y. for a
first-round matchup with the Panthers.
With the rivalry set to showcase its third matchup this season,
Lambert-Conover sees a distinct advantage in having few surprises
on the other sideline.
Head Coach Katie Lambert-Conover has guided the Skyhawks back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. She last appeared in the NCAAs as a player in leading Stonehill to its first National Championship her senior year in 2003. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
"That game last Sunday, we walked
off the field knowing exactly what we have to do to win this time,"
she said. "Whether we do it or not, that remains to be seen. But I
think we know what it takes to win."
A key to that victory will be breaking Adelphi's zone defense.
Despite the Skyhawks' ability to keep pace on the scoreboard last
week, the Panthers controlled ground balls, 56-33, and draw
controls, 21-10.
For sophomore attacker Sarah
Galligan, the experience of those two previous games has helped
perfect the Skyhawks' gameplan toward maximizing their possession
of the ball.
"We've been practicing it a lot this past week, just reviewing
what's specific to their defense because it is so unique," said
Galligan, who registered a hat trick a week ago. "We're
understanding how to move the ball and break that zone."
Beyond showcasing certain strengths on the field, the Skyhawks feel
poised to seize the mental edge on the field. Winners of 35 of its
last 36 contests, Adelphi employs an aggressive style of play,
which is boosted by a raucous home crowd. On the flip side,
Stonehill is making its first postseason appearance since 2007.
But Long Island serves as home for several Skyhawks, including
senior defender and captain Jaclyn Craig. The
Rocky Point, N.Y. native knows plenty about the Panthers' winning
attitude.
For two years at Rocky Point High School, current Adelphi head
coach Joe Spallina coached Craig. The two maintain a strong
relationship to this day, talking by phone whenever they get a
chance.
But the senior has yet to achieve something big.
"We always joke around that 'our team's better and your team's not
that good,'" Craig said. "But it's a lot of fun playing him and it
has been my goal since he started coaching there to beat him. So
this is my last chance."
As for the entire Stonehill team, the operative thought is another
chance. All three of the Skyhawks' losses this season came against
the nation's best in the Panthers (twice) and C.W. Post Pioneers,
who will face the winner of Saturday's Adelphi-Stonehill
matchup.
Thanks to the NCAA committee, Stonehill's section of the bracket is
positioned for a collision course with both of those Long Island
powers. And now that they're in, the Skyhawks are ready to win.
"We know the questions on the test," Lambert-Conover said. "We've
studied pretty hard. So, we should be able to get a pretty good
grade on this."
Division II News & Notes
Rounding out the women's first round is a matchup between two
one-loss clubs in Limestone (18-1) and
West Chester (17-1). The Golden Rams are 5-1
all-time against the Saints, including a win in their last matchup
in the 2008 NCAA national semifinals. The NCAA has moved the start
of this contest to 12 p.m. Eastern on Saturday... On the men's
side, all four NCAA-bound programs will have a week's breather
before their semifinal matchups on Saturday, May 22.
Limestone (12-1) travels to Le
Moyne (14-1), in hopes of avenging an 8-6 loss this season
on neutral turf way back in early March. C.W. Post
(14-1) will welcome Long-Island rival Dowling
(12-1) back to Hickox Field, after the Golden Lions edged the
Pioneers, 8-7, at the same venue in early April.