NORTHEAST-10 CHAMPIONS!!-- Tournament Most Valuable Player Kelly Nets Hat Trick, Gross Adds Four Points As Top Seeded And Second Ranked Women's Lacrosse Claims Eighth Straight Northeast-10 Tournament Crown With 9-7 Victory Over Third Seeded Bentley In Title Match
May 6, 2007
STONEHILL WOMEN'S LACROSSE
2007 Northeast-10 Conference Championship
Sunday, May 6, 2007
W.B. Mason Stadium, Easton, Mass.
FINAL: STONEHILL 9, BENTLEY 7
1 2 Total
Bentley (11-6) 1 6 - 7
Stonehill (18-1) 4 5 - 9
SCORING SUMMARY
BEN GOALS: Kellyn Riccitelli (2), Katie Van Horne (2), Liz Goddard (2), Jaclyn Griffin
BEN ASSISTS: Alyssa Ritchie (2), Riccitelli, Griffin, Bridget Fitzgerald
STO GOALS: Michelle Kelly (3), Liza Gross (2), Mary Maloney (2),
Tracey Hoffman, Jackie Ladino
STO ASSISTS: Hoffman (3), Gross (2), Michelle Salmon
GOALIE SAVES
BEN: Christina Guglielmo-8
STO: Amanda McGeachey-5
EASTON, Mass.-- Tournament Most Valuable Player Michelle Kelly (Mendham, N.J.) netted a hat trick on offense and caused a pair of key turnovers on defense as top-seeded and second-ranked Stonehill claimed its eighth straight Northeast-10 Conference women's lacrosse tournament championship by holding off a late charge to post a 9-7 victory over third-seeded Bentley in the 2007 league title match Sunday afternoon at W.B. Mason Stadium.
The host Skyhawks, now 18-1 overall on the season, jumped out to a 2-0 lead just 7:26 into the contest on goals off the sticks of sophomore Mary Maloney (Great River, N.Y.) and freshman Liza Gross (Loudonville, N.Y.), but the visiting Falcons, who finish the season at 11-6 overall, sliced that margin in half on freshman Jaclyn Griffin's (Barrington, Ill.) free position goal with 21:29 remaining in the opening half. That would prove to be the final Bentley tally for over 36 ½ minutes of action, however, as a pair of Kelly goals staked Stonehill to a 4-1 lead at the break, and the Skyhawks received markers off the sticks of Kelly, senior Tracey Hoffman (Nashua, N.H.) and freshman Jackie Ladino (North Dartmouth, Mass.), the latter coming with 16:30 remaining in the contest, to take a 7-1 advantage.
The Falcons began the furious comeback with a pair of goals by junior Liz Goddard (Acton, Mass.) and senior Kellyn Riccitelli (Cheshire, Conn.) that came 46 seconds apart to close to within 7-3, and that tandem contributed two more tallies that followed a free position goal by senior Katie Van Horne (Liverpool, N.Y.) cap a five-goal Bentley run and turn the match into a one-goal affair (7-6) with 7:37 to play. Gross's second goal of the day with 4:07 to play extended Stonehill's lead to 8-6, but Van Horne's second marker of the afternoon off a turnover with 2:02 remaining made it 8-7. The Falcons won the ensuing draw and were setting up for a potential game-tying goal, but a key caused turnover by Skyhawk senior Emily Wetmore (Horseheads, N.Y.) with 1:12 remaining gave the hosts possession, and Maloney's second goal of the day with seven seconds remaining iced Stonehill's eighth straight championship.
Gross finished the day with a pair of goals and two assists in the win for the Skyhawks, who received a goal and three helpers off the stick off Hoffman, two goals from Maloney, a tally from Ladino and an assist from sophomore Michelle Salmon (East Islip, N.Y.). Riccitelli finished with two goals and an assist in the setback for Bentley, which also received two goals each from Van Horne and Goddard, a marker and an assist from Griffin and a single helper off the stick of junior Bridget Fitzgerald (Winchester, Mass.).
Junior Amanda McGeachey (Saco, Maine) picked up her 18th win of the season in goal with a five-save effort for Stonehill, which improved to 21-4 all-time in post-season play, while freshman Christina Guglielmo (Fair Haven, N.J.) made eight stops in net for Bentley as the Skyhawks outshot the Falcons by a 22-14 margin for the match.
Stonehill and Bentley met for the Northeast-10 tournament title for the second time and the first since 2000 when the Skyhawks posted a 13-7 triumph over the Falcons in that contest. Today's result was the second closest margin of victory for the champion, as Saint Michael's won a one-goal decision over Stonehill in the inaugural Northeast-10 championship match in 1999. The Skyhawks are now 16-1 all-time in conference tournament play and have beaten Merrimack three times and Bentley and Bryant twice each in title matches since 2000, with a win over Assumption coming as well in the 2002 championship match.
Stonehill is expected to receive one of four berths in the 2007 NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Championship field that begins on Saturday in Salem, Va., as pairings for this year's tournament will be announced later this evening.