Moynihan's overtime winner lifts top-seeded Skyhawks to first NE10 Championship in 14 years

Moynihan's game-winner with 62-seconds left in overtime lifted the Skyhawks to their record tenth NE10 Championship (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

EASTON, Mass. (May 8, 2022) – Top-seeded Stonehill College, ranked No. 8 in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) and USA Lacrosse Magazine Division II polls, capped its Northeast-10 Conference era with the program's Conference record tenth championship, rallying from as much as a four-goal deficit in the first half to claim a 13-12 overtime triumph against third-seeded Le Moyne College, ranked No. 10 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine poll and No. 11 by the IWLCA, in the 2022 NE10 Women's Lacrosse Championship on Timothy J. Coughlin, '80 Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium this afternoon.

Stonehill (17-2, 12-1 NE10) has earned the No. 1 seed from the East Region for the NCAA Division II Tournament set to get underway with regional play this weekend. The Skyhawks will host the East Regional, that also includes Le Moyne (15-5, 10-3 NE10) as the No. 3 seed, as well as No. 2 Adelphi University and No. 4 Mercy College.

Stonehill, which will begin a transition to NCAA Division I status as a member of the Northeast Conference starting July 1, wins its Conference-record tenth NE10 Tournament Championship – its first since winning the last of a record nine-straight titles in 2008. That also marked the last time Stonehill hosted an NE10 Championship game.

Leach capped Most Outstanding Player honors at the Championship with four goals and ten draw controls today - racking up an incredible 32 draws over the Skyhawks three postseason wins (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

Sophomore midfielder Lilly Leach capped Most Outstanding Player honors for the NE10 Championships with a game-high four goals, to go with ten draw controls for the afternoon. She finished the NE10 Tournament with a team-high 11 goals, 32 draw controls, four ground balls and two caused turnovers over the three postseason contests. Leach was joined on the All-Tournament team from Stonehill by senior attack Kendall Fressle, junior defender Abigail Moynihan and sophomore attack Molly Mae Hughes.

Moynihan delivered the deciding goal with 62-seconds remaining in the first overtime, scoring on a breakaway after freshman Sarah Faley made her career-best 14^th save at the other end.

Representing Le Moyne on the All-Championship team were postgrad Sydney Meagher and junior Paige Crandall. Angelina Porcello from Pace University and Adelphi University's Kristina Kallansrude round out the All-Championship team.

Junior Lydia Rudden contributed a team-high five points in the win for Stonehill with three goals and two assists – breaking the program's single-season assist mark with 68 after entering the game tied with Jenny McGrath's '06 previous record of 66 in 2006. Rudden's five points give her an NE10-leading 109 for the season – just one shy of McGrath's single-season scoring mark of 110 in 2006.

Meagher led Le Moyne with three goals, adding three caused turnovers, four ground balls and two draw controls, while Crandall registered eight saves in the Dolphins goal. Junior Gemma Addonizio totaled four points with two goals and two assists.

Scoring

Stonehill
Goals: Lilly Leach 4, Lydia Rudden 3, Kendall Fressle 2, Emma Sullivan, Abigail Moynihan, Caroline Davey, Abby Ahearn.
Assists: Lydia Rudden 2. 

Le Moyne
Goals: Sydney Meagher 3, Gemma Addonizio 2, Kelly Thomas 2, Katelyn Karleski 2, Sarah Hutchings, Jessica Meneilly, Reilly Greer.
Assists: Gemma Addonizio 2, Sarah Hutchings, Adrianna Nojaim. 

Goalkeeping

Stonehill: Sarah Faley – 14 saves (64:58).
Le Moyne: Paige Crandall – 8 saves (64:58). 

More Leaders

Stonehill
Caused Turnovers: Mallory Crispens 2.
Draw Controls: Lilly Leach 10.
Ground Balls: Mallory Crispens & Sarah Faley 4. 

Le Moyne
Caused Turnovers: Lilly Locastro 4.
Draw Controls: Jessica Meneilly 3.
Ground Balls: Savannah Fish 6. 

How it Happened

• Faley made a season-high 14 saves, including two just moments before Moynihan's winner (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

  Le Moyne scored the first three goals of the contest to gain an early advantage after Meagher opened the scoring just 46-seconds in and got goals from four different players to take a 4-1 lead into the second quarter.
• Le Moyne took advantage of eight Stonehill turnovers in the opening quarter of play and 13 in the first half to open a four-goal lead (8-4) as Addonizio keyed back-to-back goals 1:35 apart with her 30^th goal of the season with 5:52 to play in the first half and then assisting on a goal by junior Katelyn Karleski with 4:17 remaining.
• Stonehill was able to cut the lead to three at the half as Fressle scored her first of two goals with 3:36 left in the second quarter.
• Fressle opened the second half as well, scoring 50-seconds into the third and then Rudden had a hand in two-straight goals a minute apart, netting her 40^th of the season 2:13 into the third and then assisting on senior Emma Sullivan's 66^th of the year with 11:46 left that knotted the score (8-8).
• After Meagher put Le Moyne back in front with a free-position goal less than 90-seconds later, Stonehill grabbed its first lead of the game after back-to-back goals from Rudden with 9:31 remaining in the third and Leach with 4:31 to play.
• Le Moyne reclaimed its lead (11-10) heading to the fourth quarter as Addonizio and senior Jessica Meneilly scored 51-seconds apart to cap a combined eight goals from the two teams in the third.
• After the eight goal third period, the two teams combined for just three in the fourth. Stonehill reclaimed the lead with goals from sophomore Abby Ahearn 3:11 into the quarter and freshman Caroline Davey with 7:58 to play.
• Le Moyne equalized again (12-12) with a free-position goal by Meagher with 5:30 to play and then each goalkeeper made saves down the stretch to preserve the tie and send the game into overtime.
• Stonehill entered the extra frame up a player due to a Le Moyne yellow card in the final seconds of the fourth, but was unable to take advantage despite winning the opening draw.
• The Skyhawks turned the ball over and then Faley made another key save with four seconds left in the first half of the overtime.
• Stonehill won the draw to start the second three minutes of overtime, but Crandall came up big this time, stopping a shot with 1:41 remaining.
• Le Moyne earned a free-position shot at the other end after the clear and then Faley stopped that shot and a second from Meneilly, sending Moynihan off in the other direction on a break and she would fire the game-winner in from the right side for her seventh goal of the season with 1:02 left to kick start the championship celebration.

Noteworthy

• Rudden posted three goals and two assists today, surpassing the program's single-season assist record in the process (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

  After holding an 8-7 edge in draw controls at halftime, Stonehill dominated possession after the break, posting a 14-1 advantage on draws in the second half, including 6-0 in the fourth quarter and overtime to record a 22-8 advantage for the contest. In addition to Leach's ten draw controls, junior Victoria Butler had eight and Sullivan four.
• Stonehill's first four goals came on free-position shots, including three by Leach, before Fressle's first goal of the afternoon with 3:36 remaining in the second quarter marked the Skyhawks first goal from open play.
• Fressle's two goals give her 50 for the season, marking the third Skyhawk to reach the half century mark this season, along with Sullivan (66) and Hughes (54).
• Rudden is the fifth Stonehill player to reach the 40 goal mark this season with her three goals today giving her 41, while Leach's four goals give the Skyhawks six with 30-plus goals as the team has scored 329 goals as a team this season – the second-highest total in program history behind 394 goals during its undefeated national championship run in 2005.
• Sullivan posted her NE10 leading 46^th caused turnover of the season today, breaking the program's single-season record of 45 by Amy Bartlett, '01 in 2001. Sullivan's 71 ground balls are four shy of Taylor Shannahan's '18 single-season record of 75.
• In addition to breaking the Stonehill's single-season assist record, Rudden is also just three assists shy of becoming only the fourth in program history with 100 career assists.
• With her career-high 14 saves this afternoon, Faley cracks Stonehill's all-time single-season top ten and now ranks seventh all-time with 147 this spring, posting double-digit saves for the sixth time this season, including twice against Le Moyne.
• Stonehill improves to 10-1 this season against nationally ranked opponents with its second of the year over Le Moyne.
• Stonehill has reached 17 wins for the first time since finishing 18-2 in 2007.
• Stonehill's 11-game winning streak is its longest since winning its first 12 games of the 2015 season.
• Stonehill held at No. 2 in this week's NCAA Division II East Region rankings released on Wednesday afternoon.
• Stonehill inched up one spot to No. 8 in this week's IWLCA Division II poll, holding at No. 8 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine poll.
• Stonehill has won 12 NE10 matches for the first time in program history, surpassing ten wins on six occasions.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.