#20 Women's Lacrosse Sews Up Tournament Spot at Pace, 12-8


Senior Rebecca Matheson pulled within a point of 100 for her career with her three goals and an assist today. (PHOTO BY Mike Tureski/SportsPix)

Matheson and Vetter fuel Skyhawks with four point afternoons

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. (April 30, 2016) – Stonehill College, ranked 20th in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, locked up a spot in next week's Northeast-10 Conference Tournament with a 12-8 victory at Pace University in women's lacrosse action at Pace Stadium this afternoon.

Stonehill (9-8, 7-6 NE-10) earned the No. 6 seed for the NE-10 Tournament and will visit third-seeded Bentley University (12-5, 10-3 NE-10), ranked 17th nationally, for a quarterfinal round matchup on Wednesday, May 4, at 4 p.m. Pace (9-7, 6-7 NE-10) also earned a spot in the NE-10 Tournament and the eighth-seeded Setters will travel to top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Adelphi University (16-0, 13-0 NE-10) for their quarterfinal on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Senior Rebecca Matheson (Reading, Massachusetts/Reading Memorial) and junior Elizabeth Vetter (Great River, New York/East Islip) paced Stonehill to the key win by tallying three goals and an assist apiece. Matheson added four draw controls to her four point outing, while Vetter registered two draws and a ground ball. Sophomore Brianna Doherty (Walpole, Massachusetts/Walpole) contributed a career-high three points with two goals and an assist for her first career multi-goal game.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Hess (Guilderland, New York/Guilderland) preserved the win with eight saves, collecting a career-high nine ground balls, while junior Cara Corvino (Dorset, Vermont/Burr and Burton Academy) sparked the defensive effort with four caused turnovers and six ground balls. Stonehill finished with a 27-25 edge in shots, converting 5-of-8 free-position shots, and was successful on all 20 clear attempts. Pace posted a 13-9 advantage on draw controls, but cleared on just 15-of-18 tries. Sophomore Alissa Silvestri (Congers, New York/Clarkstown North) totaled four saves in the Setters goal, collecting four ground balls.

Freshman Courtney Pabst (East Patchogue, New York/Bellport) posted a five point game for Pace with four goals and an assist with three draws and two caused turnovers. Classmate Juliana Marcolini (Warwick, Rhode Island/Warwick Valley) added two goals for the Setters, while sophomore Emily Ankabrandt (Scotia, New York/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) collected seven draws and a caused turnover.


Sophomore Brianna Doherty produced her first career multi-goal game, leading a five goal run in the second half. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

Stonehill broke open a one goal game at the half (6-5) with a five goal run to open the second half for a six goal lead with 13-minutes to play. Doherty keyed the run with both of her goals on the afternoon, while Vetter contributed a goal and assist. Doherty opened the run, assisted by Matheson, 4:22 into the half to give the Skyhawks a two goal lead for the fourth time on the afternoon. Stonehill would increase the margin this time, when junior Shannon Booth (Pearl River, New York/Nanuet) scored a free-position goal less than two minutes later.

After a goal from junior Michaela Brown (Pleasantville, New York/The Ursuline School) with 19:51 remaining, Doherty added her second goal, assisted by Vetter, with 14:22 to play before Vetter capped the run with her second goal of the day with 13:03 to go. Pace followed with back to back goals, with Pabst notching a goal and assist, to draw back within four (11-7) with 4:24 remaining, but would get no closer as the Skyhawks emerged with the blue ribbon performance as Vetter capped her hat trick with 25-seconds left before Marcolini produced a consolation goal for the hosts on a free-position shot with five seconds remaining.

Stonehill scored four of the first six goals in the contest, including three of four in the opening 7:40 and never trailed all afternoon. After Pabst answered an early marker from Vetter, Matheson potted back to back goals less than two minutes apart to give the Skyhawks their first two goal cushion with 22:20 left in the half. Pace scored three of the next four to draw even again (4-4) following a goal from sophomore Abby Haimson (Montville, New Jersey/Montville) with 4:11 to go before halftime, but sophomore All-American Kelly Healey (Westwood, Massachusetts/Westwood) and Matheson restored Stonehill's two goal lead with 28-seconds left before Marcolini was able to draw the Setters back within a goal at the half with 12-seconds to go.

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