#9 Stonehill Edges Saint Anselm, 16-15


Senior Kayla Green led the Skyhawks with five goals and two assists and sparked the final rally. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

Skyhawks rally with three unanswered goals over final ten minutes to win

EASTON, Mass. (April 23, 2013) – Stonehill College, ranked ninth in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll and fifth in the most recent NCAA North Regional rankings released last week, rallied with three goals over the final ten minutes to claim a 16-15 triumph over Saint Anselm College, among teams receiving votes nationally, in Northeast-10 Conference women's lacrosse action at Grappone Stadium tonight.

Stonehill trailed by as many as three goals in the second half before scoring five of the last six markers over the final 14 minutes, including three unanswered goals over the final ten minutes to clinch the victory. Senior Kayla Green (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) sparked the rally with the first two goals during the run, while classmate Kelsey Reilly (Hingham, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) contributed a goal and assist during the final three goal flurry.

Green led Stonehill with seven points on five goals and two assists, while collecting three draw controls and two caused turnovers. Reilly finished with two goals and two assists for four points, adding eight draw controls to go over 100 for the second straight season, three ground balls and three caused turnovers. Senior Heather Sullivan (Andover, Mass./Andover) added four goals and an assist for five points, while junior Kelsey Shannahan (Mendham, N.J./Morris Catholic) contributed two goals and an assist for three points. Junior Mary Lee Mahony (Yardley, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie) chipped in two goals.


Senior Kelsey Reilly contributed two goals and two assists. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

Sophomore Ashley Armstrong (Northborough, Mass./Algonquin Regional) posted four saves in 55:57 in the Stonehill goal, with senior Caitlyn Taveira (Mineola, N.Y./Mineola) playing 4:03 during the second half. Stonehill finished with a 28-23 edge in shots for the game, converting both free-position attempts, and held an 18-15 advantage in draw controls. The Skyhawks were successful on all 12 clear attempts and forced 19 turnovers. Freshman Jane Bunn (St. Johns, Fla./Creekside) started in goal for Saint Anselm and made two saves over the opening 17:02, before giving way to sophomore Allee Ramzi (Cumberland, R.I./Mount Saint Charles Academy) who made eight stops over the final 42:58.

Sophomore Marissa Daly (Marshfield, Mass./Thayer) led Saint Anselm with four goals and an assist for five points, chipping in two ground balls. Classmate Kelly Pickett (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) added three goals and an assist for four points, while freshman Caitlin Villareal (Portsmouth, R.I./Portsmouth Abbey) netted three goals with five draw controls, two ground balls and a caused turnover. Sophomore Sarah Doherty (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) contributed a goal and assist for three points with five draw controls, two ground balls and a caused turnover. Sophomore Kaitlyn Stazinski (Pembroke, Mass./Milton Academy) chipped in with two goals.


Senior Heather Sullivan added four goals and an assist, scoring the gamewinning goal with under four minutes to play. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

Saint Anselm scored three of the first five goals to hold a one goal lead (3-2) after a Stazinski free-position score eight minutes into the contest. Stonehill followed with four straight goals to take a 6-3 lead with 13:50 remaining in the half after back to back markers by Sullivan. Green chipped in a goal and assist during that stretch as well.

Saint Anselm answered with a four goal run of its own to regain the lead (7-6) after a Villareal tally with 10:56 left in the frame. Pickett contributed two goals and an assist to lead the stretch. Stonehill scored the last two goals of the half to reclaim the lead at halftime with goals from Reilly and sophomore Brooke Rudden (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton). The Skyhawks scored the first goal of the second half to stretch the advantage to two goals (9-7) with a free-position goal by Shannahan 2:22 into the half.

Saint Anselm took the lead back with three straight goals (10-9), capped by a Stazinski marker six minutes into the half. Green tied the game a minute later and then Saint Anselm added two more goals to open a two goal cushion (12-10) on a Villareal tally with 20:28 to play. Shannahan pulled Stonehill back within a goal 20-seconds after that, but the Hawks got markers from Daly and Doherty to open its game-high three goal advantage with 16:05 left.

Green sparked the rally with her two goals over a minute and a half span to pull Stonehill back within a goal with 12:32 on the clock. Senior Carrie Brophy (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) scored for Saint Anselm with 10:40 left to regain a two goal lead (15-13).

Reilly started Stonehill's final rally with a free-position goal with 8:34 to play and then Mahony knotted the score with an unassisted tally with 6:04 left. Sullivan added the game winning score with 3:29 remaining off a feed by Reilly.

Stonehill (12-5, 10-2 NE-10) will be seeded third for the upcoming Northeast-10 Tournament and will host a first round matchup on Wednesday, May 1, against likely Saint Anselm at a time to be announced. Saint Anselm (9-6, 6-5 NE-10) rounds out its regular season on Friday at Southern Connecticut State University at 6 p.m.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter and Facebook. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks mobile app on iTunes and the Android Market.