Senior All-American Erika Kelly scored both goals to lift the Skyhawks to a second-straight title (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

Skyhawks claim 2-1 win over Assumption behind two Kelly goals, including walk-off winner on corner

Stonehill (14-6, 9-3 NE-10) has now won three NE-10 tournament titles in program history with its back to back championships joining its 2005 crown. The Skyhawks now await word on a seventh NCAA Tournament bid when the selection committee makes its announcement tomorrow at 1 p.m. Assumption (14-6, 10-2 NE-10), which won a share of the NE-10 regular season championship, also awaits word on its NCAA Tournament fate.

Senior All-American Erika Kelly (Watertown, Massachusetts/Watertown), the NE-10 Player of the Year, earned her spot on the All-Championship team by scoring both Stonehill goals, including a walk-off gamewinner on a penalty corner after time had expired. Junior Sarah Morse (Westminster, Massachusetts/Oakmont Regional) dished the assist on the winner and earned Most Outstanding Player honors of the Championship for her strong play turning the Skyhawks defense into offense all week. Kelly and Morse were joined on the All-Championship Team by senior back Maggie Travers (Scituate, Massachusetts/Scituate).

Junior Sarah Morse collected Most Outstanding Player honors at the Championship, assisting on the gamewinning goal. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes)

Freshman Sara Freedman (Hopkinton, Massachusetts/Hopkinton) preserved the win with a season-high ten saves. Stonehill held a 20-11 advantage for shots, including 13-11 on goal, while notching a 9-3 edge in penalty corners. Freshman Sarah Bodzinski (Southwick, Massachusetts/Southwick Tolland Regional) finished with nine saves in the Assumption cage to earn a spot on the All-Championship Team along with senior Sarah Frahm (Salem, New Hampshire/Salem).

After a scoreless first half, Kelly pushed Stonehill in front off of a corner when she took a pass from junior Shea Healy (Greenfield, Massachusetts/Pioneer Regional) on a give and go at the top of the circle 1:31 into the second half. Assumption equalized at 50:34 when sophomore Allison Sheahan (Higganum, Connecticut/Haddam-Killingworth) scored her seventh goal of the season with a shot from the left side of the circle that found the bottom right corner of the cage.

The game appeared headed for overtime, when Kelly was able to force a corner as time was set to expire. With the clock at zero, Morse's corner pass went to Kelly at the top of the arc for a drive that went through the Assumption defense and into the back of the cage for her Division II-leading 27^th goal of the season.

Kelly, who has notched at least a point in all 20 games this season, and 21 straight dating back to 2014, adds to her NE-10 record goal with 98 markers in 80 career games played, while her 217 career points are two shy of the NE-10 record of 219 set by UMass Lowell's Sammy Macy (2007-10).       

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2015 Northeast-10 Champions