Junior Kelsey Shannahan scored four goals in the Skyhawks first round win over Saint Anselm and has netted two thirds of her season scoring output over the last ten games. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Third-seeded Skyhawks and second-seeded Adelphi to battle tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.
Le Moyne's NE-10 Women's Lacrosse Championship Homepage
NE-10 Women's Lacrosse Championship Website
EASTON, Mass. (May 3, 2013) – Third-seeded Stonehill College, ranked ninth in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, has reached the semifinal round of the Northeast-10 Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament for a record 15th-straight season and will match up with second-seeded and No. 5-ranked Adelphi University at Thomas J. Niland Athletic Complex, on the campus of top-seeded and 4th-ranked Le Moyne College, on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Admission for this weekend's games is $6.00 for adults, $4.00 for children and senior citizens and $1.00 for students from participating teams with valid ID. The games will also be broadcast live free of charge by www.lemoynedolphins.tv with Kenny Copps calling the action. Links for the broadcast and live stats will also be available via www.stonehillskyhawks.com.
Stonehill (13-5, 10-2 NE-10) advanced to the semifinal round with a 13-12 comeback win over sixth-seeded Saint Anselm College in Wednesday's first round at W.B. Mason Stadium. Junior Mary Lee Mahony (Yardley, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie) scored two goals, including the game winner with 6:42 remaining, and dished an assist for three points for the Skyhawks, while classmate Kelsey Shannahan (Mendham, N.J./Morris Catholic) netted four goals. Senior Kayla Green (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) posted two goals and two assists for four points with two draw controls for the Skyhawks.
Senior Kayla Green leads the Skyhawks in goals and assists. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Stonehill 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 15 years to date and have won an NE-10 record nine championships – doing so consecutively from 2000 through 2008. Northeast-10 regular season co-champions Adelphi (16-1, 11-1 NE-10), who earned a first round bye, has won all three NE-10 Tournament Championships since joining the league prior to the 2010 season, including a 13-12 decision over Le Moyne in Syracuse, N.Y., last year after handing Stonehill a 12-11 overtime defeat in the semifinal round.
The winner of tomorrow's game will advance to Sunday's championship in Syracuse to face the winner of Saturday's opening semifinal between fourth-seeded and 14th-ranked University of New Haven (12-6, 9-3 NE-10) and top-seeded and host Le Moyne (14-2, 11-1 NE-10), ranked fourth nationally, that will start at 11 a.m. Sunday's final and Niland Athletic Complex will start at 1 p.m. New Haven reached the semifinals with an 18-14 triumph over fifth-seeded and 13th-ranked Bentley University in West Haven, Conn., on Wednesday.
Stonehill, ranked fourth in the NCAA Division II North Regional rankings, enters tomorrow's game winners of four straight and six of seven after its opening round win over Saint Anselm. The Skyhawks rank second in the NE-10 for scoring (17th nationally) with 14.8 goals per game, while ranking fifth with a 10.33 team goals against average (25th). The Skyhawks lead the Conference with 15.4 draw controls (7th), posting a +3.9 per game margin against its opponents, and rank fifth with 8.4 caused turnovers per game (22nd), while clearing 74.6-percent of their chances for the year.
Sophomore Ashley Armstrong posted a season-high 13 saves in the first meeting of the season with Adelphi and made a game-saving stop with one second left in Wednesday's first round win over Saint Anselm. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Stonehill is led by a trio of seniors who have collected All-Northeast-10 Conference honors this week and surpassed the 200-point mark for their careers this season. Green, a first team All-NE-10 selection, leads the Skyhawks with 61 goals (5th NE-10) and 21 assists (6th) for 82 points (3rd). She is ranked 11th nationally in Division II for goals scored and 16th in scoring. Classmate Heather Sullivan (Andover, Mass./Andover), a second team All-NE-10 honoree for the second straight year, has added 58 goals (6th) and 12 assists for 70 points (7th), to go with 32 ground balls, 23 draw controls and ten caused turnovers, ranking 16th nationally for goals scored.
Senior All-American Kelsey Reilly (Hingham, Mass./Notre Dame Academy), the NE-10 Midfielder of the Year and a first team All-Conference performer for the third-straight season, has contributed 53 points (14th) on 37 goals (17th) and 16 assists (15th), while going over 100 draw controls for the second-straight year with an NE-10 best 105 this spring (6th nationally) to go with 36 ground balls and team-high 22 caused turnovers (7th NE-10). She set a program record with 120 draw controls her junior year. Shannahan has also come on strong of late for the Skyhawks, amassing 67-percent of her 55 points (11th NE-10) over the last ten games, scoring 41 goals (14th) to go with 14 assists (17th) this season – including 17 goals and six assists for 23 points over the last five games. Mahony is second to Green on the team with 20 assists (8th), adding ten goals for 30 points.
Juniors Katherine McDonough (Westwood, Mass./Westwood), a second team All-Northeast-10 selection, and Lauren Bonagura (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) along with freshman Remi DiRe (Winchester, Mass./Winchester), named to the NE-10's All-Rookie team, 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 10.40 goals against average (5th NE-10) and .403 save percentage while averaging 6.6 saves per game (7th) in 1,015:05 (2nd) over 18 starts.
Senior All-American Kelsey Reilly leads the NE-10 with 105 draw controls and has earned NE-10 Midfielder of the Year honors. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Adelphi, ranked third in the NCAA Division II East Regional rankings, enter their postseason opener winners of four straight after being dealt a 13-11 setback at Le Moyne for its lone defeat of the season on April 17. The Panthers lead all of Division II with a +11.12 scoring margin as they rank fourth nationally with a Northeast-10 high 17.2 goals per game, while ranking third nationally with a Conference-low 6.1 goals allowed per game. Adelphi is second to Stonehill with 15.2 draw controls per game (12th nationally) and adding an NE-10 best 9.9 caused turnovers (12th) per contest.
Junior Devan Crimi (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) leads Adelphi with 62 goals (4th NE-10) and 27 assists (2nd) for a Conference-leading 89 points (9th nationally), adding 25 ground balls, 31 draw controls and 17 caused turnovers. Freshman Rachel O'Brien (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blueport) has added 48 goals (9th NE-10) and 18 assists (9th) for 66 points (8th) in her first collegiate season, while sophomore Alexa Froccaro (Sands Point, N.Y./Port Washington) has contributed 42 goals (13th) and nine assists for 51 points (16th), chipping in 28 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers.
Junior Jordann Dempsey (Sparks, Md./Hereford) has seen the majority of time in the Adelphi goal and leads the NE-10 with a 5.91 goals against average (2nd nationally) to go with a .461 save percentage (3rd NE-10) with 3.7 saves per game in 701:05 (8th) over 16 games this season.
Saturday marks the 17th meeting all-time between these two programs, the fifth in postseason play and third in the NE-10 Tournament. Adelphi holds an 11-5 advantage in the all-time series, having won each of the last nine encounters, including a 12-5 victory in Garden City, N.Y., on March 30. The Panthers have won three of the four previous postseason matchups, including both in the NE-10 Tournament, after last season's overtime semifinal triumph. Both NE-10 Tournament meetings have been decided in overtime by just a single goal, with Adelphi notching a 14-13 victory in the 2010 championship match.
Junior Melyssa Mathewson (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park) led Adelphi in the regular season matchup between the two teams at the end of March with two goals and two assists for four points, while sophomore Danielle Jaycox (Amityville, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) netted a team-best three goals Dempsey registered nine saves in goal to preserve the win for the Panthers, while Armstrong posted a season-high 13 saves in the Stonehill net Sullivan and Shannahan both netted two goals for the Skyhawks who fell behind 6-0 after 18 minutes and couldn't recover.
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2013 Northeast-10 Conference
Women's Lacrosse Championships
First Round
Wednesday, May 1
#4 New Haven 18, #5 Bentley 14
#3 Stonehill 13, #6 Saint Anselm 12
Semifinals (hosted by Le Moyne College, Syracuse, N.Y.)
Saturday, May 4
#4 New Haven (12-6, 9-3 NE-10) at #1 Le Moyne (14-2, 11-1 NE-10), 11 a.m.
#3 Stonehill (13-5, 10-2 NE-10) 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.*