Acone Nets Four Goals And Pair Of Assists For Six Points As Top-Seeded And Top-Ranked Women's Lacrosse Advances To Seventh Straight Northeast-10 Championship Match With 18-1 Semi-Final Triumph Over Fifth-Seeded Assumption

May 7, 2005

STONEHILL WOMEN'S LACROSSE

2005 Northeast-10 Conference Semi-Finals

Saturday, May 7, 2005

Larkin Field, Manchester, N.H.

GAME #1 FINAL: MERRIMACK 6, BRYANT 5

1 2 Total

Bryant (12-5) 3 2 - 5

Merrimack (12-3) 3 3 - 6

SCORING SUMMARY

BRY GOALS: Maureen Burns (2), Shaun Leddy, Caitlin Hansen, Lauren Carlisle

MER GOALS: Alison Colarusso (2), Allison Kownacki (2), Erin Black (2)

BRY ASSISTS: Hansen, Leddy, Liz Moore MER ASSIST: Colarusso

GOALIE SAVES

BRY: Samantha Libby--11

MER: Lawana DaCosta--10

GAME #2 FINAL: STONEHILL 18, ASSUMPTION 1

1 2 Total

Assumption (7-9) 0 1 - 1

Stonehill (18-0) 10 8 - 18

SCORING SUMMARY

ASM GOAL: Tracey Conboy ASM ASSIST: Jenny Mongeau

STO GOALS: Erin Acone (4), Kristin Darrell (4), Brenna Newfell (4), Colby Confer (3),

Jenny McGrath (2), Colette Carpenter

STO ASSISTS: Acone (2), McGrath (2), Carpenter, Confer, Darrell, Tracey Hoffman

GOALIE SAVES

ASM: Marjorie Schepp--8

STO: Lauren Stone--5

MANCHESTER, N.H.-- Top-seeded and top-ranked Stonehill will meet second-seeded Merrimack for the 2005 Northeast-10 Conference Women's Lacrosse championship on Sunday afternoon, as both squads advanced with respective victories in league semi-final round play Saturday afternoon at Southern New Hampshire's Larkin Field. The Chieftains posted an 18-1 triumph over fifth-seeded Assumption, while the Warriors notched a 6-5 victory over third-seeded Bryant.

Junior All-America Erin Acone (Bow, N.H.) netted four goals and a pair of assists for six points in the semi-final win for Stonehill (18-0), which extended its school-record winning streak to 24 straight contests in building a 10-0 advantage at the break and scoring the first 17 goals of the match. Senior Brenna Newfell (North Billerica, Mass.) and freshman Kristin Darrell (West Islip, N.Y.) matched Acone's goal total with four markers apiece, while senior All-America Colby Confer (Madison, Conn.) added a hat trick and an assist for the Chieftains. Junior Jenny McGrath (Milton, Mass.) chipped in with a pair of goals and two assists for Stonehill, which also received a goal and an assist from senior Colette Carpenter (Massapequa, N.Y.) and an assist from sophomore Tracey Hoffman (Nashua, N.H.). Sophomore Tracey Conboy (Albany, N.Y.) netted the lone goal of the day for the Greyhounds (7-9) on a feed from junior Jenny Mongeau (Westboro, Mass.).

Junior Lauren Stone (Guilderland, N.Y.) set a school single season record with her 16th victory of the season in goal for Stonehill, as she made five stops on the afternoon, while senior Marjorie Schepp (Middletown, N.J.) made eight saves in goal for Assumption as the Chieftains outshot the Greyhounds by a 38-9 margin.

Junior Erin Black's (Walpole, Mass.) goal with 1:34 remaining proved to be the game-winner in the opening contest for second-seeded Merrimack (12-3), which advances to its first conference title contest since 2001. The Warriors snapped a 3-3 halftime tie with a pair of goals off the sticks of junior Alison Colarusso (North Andover, Mass.) and freshman Allison Kownacki (Orange, Conn.) to take a 5-3 lead with just over 21 minutes remaining, but third-seeded Bryant (12-5) used markers by junior Maureen Burns (Derry, N.H.) and sophomore Lauren Carlisle (San Diego, Calif.) 16 seconds apart to even matters again at 5-5, setting up Black's heroics.

Colarusso, Kownacki and Black each netted two goals to account for Merrimack's scoring, while Burns added two goals in the setback for Bryant, which also received single tallies off the sticks of sophomore Shaun Leddy (Sea Girt, N.J.) and freshman Caitlin Hansen (Spring Lake, N.J.).

Freshman Lawana DaCosta (Framingham, Mass.) picked up the win in goal for Merrimack with a 10-save effort, while junior Samantha Libby (Penacook, N.H.) made 11 stops in net for Bryant as the Warriors outshot the Bulldogs by a 27-26 margin.

Stonehill and Merrimack are meeting in the Northeast-10 championship match for the second time, as the Chieftains and Warriors first met in the league title contest in 2001. Sunday's championship match will be played at Stonehill's Chieftain Stadium beginning at 2:00 p.m.