Stonehill Drops Finale at No. 1 C.W. Post
Long Island, N.Y. - The Stonehill College Women's Lacrosse Team (12-3, 10-0 Northeast-10 Conference) fell short of the C.W. Post Pioneers (15-0, 4-0 East Coast Conference), 13-6 in their regular season finale. The non-conference defeat snapped a four-game winning streak for the Skyhawks. The Purple and White still sport an undefeated NE-10 record, and will have home field advantage throughout the Northeast-10 Conference Championship Tournament.
The Pioneers posted a 3-0 advantage before sophomore Jackie Ladino (North Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) put Stonehill on the board with her 16 th goal on a free-position shot. Michelle Kelly (Mendham, N.J./West Morris Mendham) and Mary Maloney (Great River, N.Y./Saint Anthony's) scored back-to-back to tie the score, 3-3, midway through the first.
C.W. Post closed the half on a 4-0 scoring run to widen their lead to 7-3 at the end of the first half. The Pioneer's Katie Hogan scored twice during the run to up her first-half total to four markers.
Two scores minutes into the second gave C.W. Post a six-goal advantage, 9-3. Liza Gross (Loudonville, N.Y./Shaker) and Kristin Darrell (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) each added tallies to close the gap to 9-5, but the top-ranked Pioneers pulled ahead from there.
C.W. Post's Jaclyn Napoli claimed three second-half scores to keep the Skyhawks at bay. Darrell would add her 48 th marker of the season but it was not enough, as the Pioneers survived, 13-6.
Kelly, a junior, led the way for the Skyhawks with a goal and two assists for three total points. Darrell's two scores were complimented by three ground balls, and a draw control. Gross finished with one goal, five draw controls, and a caused turnover.
The Skyhawks, the number one seed in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship Tournament, will draw a bye in the first round of action. On Friday, they will host a team to be determined. Game time is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.