Senior Kayla Green leads the Skyhawks in goals, assists and points this season. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Third-seeded Skyhawks host sixth-seeded Hawks eight days after one-goal clash
EASTON, Mass. (April 30, 2013) – Third-seeded Stonehill College, ranked ninth in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, hosts sixth-seeded Saint Anselm College, receiving votes in this week's IWLCA poll, for first round action of the 2013 Northeast-10 Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament at Timothy J. Coughlin Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Admission for tomorrow night's game is $6.00 for adults, $4.00 for children and senior citizens and $1.00 for students from participating teams with valid ID. The first 250 Stonehill students will be admitted free of charge, courtesy of the Athletics Department, when presenting their HillCard at the ticket window. Live stats will also be available via www.stonehillskyhawks.com for those who cannot attend or would like to follow along in the stadium.
Stonehill (12-5, 10-2 NE-10) has appeared in all 15 NE-10 Tournaments since the Conference started sponsoring the event in 1999. The Skyhawks have reached at least the semifinal round all 14 years to date and have won an NE-10 record nine championships – doing so consecutively from 2000 through 2008. Saint Anselm (10-6, 7-5 NE-10) is making just its fifth NE-10 Tournament appearance and first since 2006. The Hawks have lost all four NE-10 Tournament games in program history, including an 18-10 setback to Bryant University in the 2006 first round.
Stonehill, ranked fourth in the NCAA Division II North Regional rankings, enters tomorrow's night's game winners of three straight and five of six. The Skyhawks rank second in the NE-10 for scoring (17th nationally) with 14.9 goals per game, while ranking fifth with a 10.24 team goals against average (25th). The Skyhawks lead the Conference with 15.5 draw controls (7th) and rank fifth with 8.7 caused turnovers per game (22nd), while clearing 74.9-percent of their chances for the year.
Senior All-American Kelsey Reilly has secured 100 draw controls for the second-straight year, leading the NE-10 with 102 this season. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Stonehill is led by a trio of seniors who have collected postseason honors and surpassed 200 points over their careers. Senior Kayla Green (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry), an All-Region selection her junior year, leads the Skyhawks with 59 goals (5th NE-10) and 19 assists (7th) for 78 points (3rd). She is ranked 11th nationally in Division II for goals scored and 16th in scoring. Classmate Heather Sullivan (Andover, Mass./Andover), an All-NE-10 pick in 2012, has added 55 goals (6th) and 12 assists for 67 points (6th), to go with 31 ground balls, 22 draw controls and ten caused turnovers, ranking 16th nationally for goals scored.
Senior All-American Kelsey Reilly (Hingham, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) is third on the team in scoring with 52 points (12th) on 36 goals (19th) and 16 assists (15th), while going over 100 draw controls for the second-straight year with an NE-10 best 102 this spring (6th nationally) to go with 34 ground balls and team-high 21 caused turnovers (10th NE-10). She set a program record with 120 draw controls her junior year. Junior Kelsey Shannahan (Mendham, N.J./Morris Catholic) has also come on strong of late to surpass 50 points, posting 37 goals (15th NE-10) and 14 assists (17th) for 51 points (14th), while classmate Mary Lee Mahony (Yardley, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie) shares the team lead with 19 assists (7th).
Senior Jessica Guisti (Walpole, Mass./Northfield Mount Hermon) and juniors Lauren Bonagura (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) and Katherine McDonough (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) lead the Stonehill defensive corps this season. Sophomore Ashley Armstrong (Northborough, Mass./Algonquin Regional) has seen the majority of minutes in the Skyhawks goal and posted a 10.30 goals against average (5th NE-10) and .410 save percentage while averaging 6.7 saves per game (7th) in 955:05 (3rd) over 17 starts.
Junior Katherine McDonough has been a leader for the Skyhawks defensive unit this season (PHOTO BY Shane Bufano) |
Saint Anselm enters tomorrow night's game after closing out the regular season with an 18-6 victory at Southern Connecticut State University on Friday, having dropped four of its previous five games before that. The Hawks rank fifth in the NE-10 for scoring with 14.1 goals per game and sixth with an 11.12 team goals against average.
Saint Anselm's top six scorers are all underclassmen, led by sophomore Marissa Daly (Marshfield, Mass./Thayer) with 62 goals (2nd NE-10) and 14 assists (17th) for 76 points (4th). Classmate Sarah Doherty (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) has contributed 25 goals and a team-high 21 assists (5th) for 46 points (20th), with 59 draw controls (8th), 30 ground balls and ten caused turnovers. Freshman Caitlin Villareal (Portsmouth, R.I./Portsmouth Abbey) has totaled 36 goals and six assists for 42 points in her rookie season, while sophomore Kaitlyn Stazinski (Pembroke, Mass./Thayer Academy) has chipped in 28 goals and 13 assists for 41 points.
Sophomore Allee Ramzi (Cumberland, R.I./Mount Saint Charles Academy) and freshman Jane Bunn (St. Johns, Fla./Creekside) have essentially split the goalkeeping duties for Saint Anselm. Ramzi has posted a 10.66 goals against average (6th) and .448 save percentage (6th) while averaging 6.8 saves per game over 562:59 in 12 games (seven starts. Bunn has played 403:01 over ten games (eight starts) and registered an 11.76 GAA with 5.2 saves per game.
Wednesday night marks the 18th meeting all-time between these two programs, the second in postseason play. Stonehill has won all 17 of the previous meetings between the two teams, including a thrilling 16-15 comeback win in Manchester, N.H., to close out its regular season schedule eight days ago. The Skyhawks posted an 11-0 triumph over Saint Anselm in the semifinal round of the 2001 NE-10 Tournament in their only postseason encounter.
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 to pull out its 16-15 win at Saint Anselm last week. The Skyhawks scored three unanswered goals over the final ten minutes, capped by a Sullivan goal with 3:29 remaining, to clinch the victory. Green led Stonehill with seven points on five goals and two assists, while Sullivan added four goals and an assist for five points. Daly led Saint Anselm with four goals and an assist for five points, while sophomore Kelly Pickett (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) added three goals and an assist for four points.
The winner of Wednesday night's game will advance to this weekend's NE-10 final four, hosted by top-seeded Le Moyne College, to face second-seeded and three-time defending NE-10 champions Adelphi University (16-1, 11-1 NE-10) in the second of two semifinals on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The NE-10 Championship will be played on Sunday, May 5, at 1 p.m.
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2013 Northeast-10 Conference
Women's Lacrosse Championships
First Round
Wednesday, May 1
#5 Bentley (11-5, 9-3 NE-10) at #4 New Haven (11-6, 9-3 NE-10), 4 p.m.
#6 Saint Anselm (10-6, 7-5 NE-10) at #3 Stonehill (12-5, 10-2 NE-10), 7 p.m.
Semifinals (hosted by Le Moyne College, Syracuse, N.Y.)
Saturday, May 4
Bentley/New Haven winner at #1 Le Moyne (14-2, 11-1 NE-10), 11 a.m.
St. Anselm/Stonehill winner vs. #2 Adelphi (16-1, 11-1 NE-10), 1:30 p.m.
Championship (hosted by Le Moyne, Syracuse, N.Y.)
Sunday, May 5
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.*
*- game time is subject to change