Senior All-American Kathryn Nelson became the third 100 point scorer in program history with the opening goal on Saturday. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

Nelson becomes third 100 point scorer in program history, as Skyhawks await tomorrow's Merrimack/Adelphi result to determine postseason fate

Stonehill's (9-9, 4-6 NE-10) postseason fate rests in the hands of NE-10 regular season champions and No. 4-ranked Merrimack College tomorrow when they host Adelphi University in North Andover, Mass. The Skyhawks need Merrimack to defeat Adelphi to clinch the No. 6 seed for the NE-10 Tournament, by way of the head-to-head tiebreaker over Saint Anselm College (6-10, 4-6 NE-10). Adelphi (6-11, 3-6 NE-10) would clinch the sixth seed, by way of the NE-10 tiebreaker, with a win over the Warriors tomorrow. Franklin Pierce University (10-8, 7-3 NE-10) has clinched the third seed and will host either Stonehill or Adelphi for an NE-10 first round matchup on Wednesday (Time TBA).

Saint Michael's, who could have clinched the six seed with a win today, finishes its season with a 4-14 record overall, 3-7 in the NE-10.

Freshman Jennifer Foley scored the deciding goal late in regulation for her team-leading fourth gamewinner. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

Stonehill senior All-American Kathryn Nelson (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) became the third player in program history to surpass 100 career points as her first half goal give her 45 goals (3^rd all-time) and 11 assists (3^rd) for 101 points (3^rd) in 80 games played. She joins former teammate and All-American Claire Hourihan, '10 (118) and All-American Caitlin Gleason, '08 (132) as 100 point scorers in program history.

Freshman Jennifer Foley (Holden, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) also scored a goal for Stonehill. Junior goaltender Kaitlyn Curtis (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough) made two second half saves to preserve the win for the Skyhawks.

Senior Jackie Stacey (West Windsor, Vt./Woodstock Union) stopped 12 shots in the cage for Saint Michael's as Stonehill piled up a 30-5 advantage for shots in the contest, including 19-4 in the second half. The Skyhawks also racked up 21 penalty corners, to four for the Purple Knights, including a 14-1 edge in the second half.

Freshman Jackie Dunn (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) scored her first collegiate goal for Saint Michael's.

Foley scored the winning goal off a corner with 7:39 remaining in regulation as she knocked in a rebound at the left post off a long drive from the right side by senior Laura Menke (Greenland, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas) that was tipped by Nelson. It marks Foley's ninth goal of her freshman campaign and her team-best fourth game winner.

Nelson opened the scoring with her team-high 12^th goal of the season with 4:06 left before halftime as she tapped in a loose ball behind Stacey after she made the initial save on a shot by sophomore Devin Ingersoll (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) off a corner.

Dunn knotted the score at 51:40 with a tip in of a pass from the upper left corner of the arc by junior Hali Roy (South Pomfret, Vt./Woodstock Union) for the first goal of her collegiate career.

Prior to today's game, Stonehill recognized its four seniors: Nelson, Menke, Lauren Colligan (Cazenovia, N.Y./Cazenovia Central) and Caitlin O'Keeffe (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) who played their final home game this afternoon.