#7 Stonehill Rallies Past Merrimack, 13-11

#7 Stonehill Rallies Past Merrimack, 13-11

Sullivan nets two of her three goals in Skyhawks late four-goal rally

Boxscore 


Merrimack and Stonehill joined together for a group photo before their NE-10 match in recognition of the Lax 4 Life program to benefit the Allyson Rose Green Memorial Foundation.

EASTON, Mass. (March 25, 2010) – Stonehill College, ranked seventh in this week’s Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, scored six of the game’s final eight goals to rally for a 13-11 victory over Merrimack College in Northeast-10 Conference women’s lacrosse action at W.B. Mason Stadium this afternoon. Stonehill and Merrimack joined 34 other Division II teams across the country to participate in the Lax 4 Life program to benefit the Allyson Rose Green Memorial Foundation. The College collected donationa during the game for the foundation.


Heather Sullivan

Freshman Heather Sullivan (Andover, Mass./Andover) led three Stonehill players with three goals, scoring two goals in the final 8:33 of regulation to lead the final Skyhawks rally. Her free-position goal with 8:33 to play put Stonehill up for good and then she added an insurance goal with 1:53 remaining to put the Skyhawks up 13-10.

Senior Jackie Ladino (North Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) and sophomore Samantha Lynott (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) also netted hat tricks for Stonehill. Senior Liza Gross (Loudonville, N.Y./Shaker) scored a pair of goals for the Skyhawks, while junior Hannah Anderson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) and sophomore Sarah Galligan (West Newbury, Mass./Pentucket Regional) both contributed a goal and assist.

Freshman Rebecca Moore (Marlborough, Mass./St. Mark’s School) made a season-high 14 saves in goal for Stonehill, including eight in the first half to give the Skyhawks the chance at a second half comeback. Senior Jamie-Lee Whiteway (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) also finished with 13 stops for Merrimack. Stonehill finished with a 35-27 shots advantage, including a 26-24 edge in shots on goal.

Senior Mia Basile (Longmeadow, Mass./Minnechaug) led Merrimack with three goals and two assists for five points. Senior Kelly Pasquantonio (Plainville, Mass./King Phillip) added three goals and an assist for four points, while classmate Maddie Basile (Longmeadow, Mass./Minnechaug) netted a pair of goals for the Warriors. Senior Meredith Prior (Branford, Conn./Branford) chipped in with two assists.

Stonehill trailed by two (9-7) after Mia Basile set up twin sister Maddie Basile for her second goal of the season with 23:24 to play. The Skyhawks scored the next two goals, from Gross and Ladino, to force the game’s fourth tie with 15:41 left on the clock. Pasquantonio regained the lead for the Warriors two minutes later with an unassisted goal with 13:41 remaining.

Stonehill then reeled off four-straight goals to take the lead for good. Lynott knotted the score with 11:32 to play, before Sullivan’s second goal of the match gave the Skyhawks the lead. Galligan scored what would prove to be the game-winner with 2:06 to play, before Sullivan rounded out her hat trick and the Stonehill scoring with 1:53 remaining to put the hosts up 13-10. Maddie Basile drew Merrimack back within two and rounded out the scoring with 1:15 to go.


Rebecca Moore

Merrimack led 2-0 less than three minutes into the contest on markers from junior Christina McCarron (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) and Mia Basile. Ladino netted two-straight free-position shots to force the first of five ties on the day with 19:04 left in the half. Anderson and Gross added goals in the Skyhawks four-goal run to open a 4-2 lead with 14:39 left in the half.

Merrimack responded by netting five of the next six goals to gain a 7-5 advantage after a Pasquantonio goal, assisted by Mia Basile, with 1:15 left in the half. Basile had two goals and an assist in all during that stretch, while Pasquantonio posted a goal and assist. Lynott scored an unassisted goal with ten-seconds left to cap the scoring in the half and pull Stonehill within one (7-6) at the intermission.

The Allyson Rose Green Memorial Foundation and the Lax 4 Life program focus on adolescent suicide prevention. Green was the younger sister of West Chester goalkeeper Mary Beth Green. Last season, the women's lacrosse teams of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference participated in the program, which has spread to 36 Division II teams across the nation in 2010.

For more information on the Allyson Rose Green Memorial Foundation, please visit http://www.allysonsfund.org/.

Stonehill (2-1, 1-1 NE-10) is back in action on Saturday, when it visits 9th-ranked University of New Haven at 1 p.m. The Skyhawks return home on Wednesday, March 31, to host Southern New Hampshire University at 4 p.m. Merrimack (1-1, 0-1 NE-10) visits Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday at 1 p.m.