Senior Lizzie Lane scored three goals over the final 12:26, including the gamewinner with 1:56 to play, to lift the Skyhawks to a big regional win. (PHOTO BY SportsPix) |
Lane's gamewinner with less than two minutes to play caps win, three goal day
EASTON, Mass. (April 25, 2015) – Senior Lizzie Lane (Sandwich, Massachusetts/Bishop Stang) scored three goals, including the gamewinner with 1:56 to play, to lift Stonehill College, ranked 7th in both the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll and Nike/Lacrosse Magazine Top 25, to a big 8-7 triumph over LIU Post, ranked 9th in the IWLCA poll and 10th in the Lacrosse Magazine poll, in non-conference women's lacrosse action between two regionally-ranked programs at Timothy J. Coughlin Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium this afternoon.
Lane's winner, which provided Stonehill with its first lead of the afternoon, capped a four point day on Senior Day as she added an assist to her three goals, while posting four ground balls, two draw controls and a caused turnover. Senior Ashley Armstrong (Northborough, Massachusetts/Algonquin Regional) also shined in her final regular season home game with a season-high 12 saves, including the 500th of her career, posting eight first half stops and four ground balls. She also stopped three free-position shot attempts and her save with 1:13 on the clock preserved the Skyhawks late lead and the victory as she collected the ground ball and Stonehill was able to convert the clear and run out the clock.
Senior Cassandra McGill (Westborough, Massachusetts/Westborough) added a goal and assist for Stonehill, while classmate Brooke Rudden (Hopkinton, Massachusetts/Hopkinton) dished out two assists. LIU Post held a 24-20 edge in shots for the contest, including 13-9 in the first half, while posting a 9-8 lead in draw controls. The Skyhawks turned the ball over 14 times, compared to 12 for the Pioneers.
Sophomore Cara Douglas (West Islip, New York/West Islip) led LIU Post with two goals, while classmate Emily Delaney (Long Valley, New Jersey/West Morris) totaled a goal and two assists for three points. Junior Honey Roche (Centerport, New York/Harborfields) and sophomore Connor Bird (Syosset, New York/Syosset) each contributed a goal and assist for the Pioneers, with Bird adding four ground balls, three draw controls and two caused turnovers.
Senior Ashley Armstrong made a season-high 12 saves in the Skyhawks goal. (PHOTO BY SportsPix) |
Freshman Olivia Kirk (Farmingdale, New York/Farmingdale) posted seven saves in goal for LIU Post, chipping in with two ground balls.
Lane's game-winner capped Stonehill's second comeback from a two goal deficit in the contest, as the Skyhawks scored four of the last five goals over the final 12:26. All three of Lane's goals came during that span to lead the rally, while junior Caitlin Sweeney (Hollis, New Hampshire/Hollis-Brookline) added a goal as well. Roche's free-position goal gave LIU Post a 6-4 lead with 14:06 remaining, but Lane and Sweeney netted goals just over a minute apart to pull Stonehill even with 11:15 to go.
Sophomore Stefani Vagelatos (Port Jefferson, New York/Comsewogue) put LIU Post back in front with a free-position goal with 10:24 remaining, but Lane answered with a free-position marker of her own with 9:09 left to equalize for the fourth time in the game. The Pioneers won the ensuing draw, and after back to back turnovers by the sides, Armstrong stopped a Delaney shot with 7:38 to play. The teams traded turnovers again and then Kirk saved a shot by Sweeney with 5:26 remaining. LIU Post collected the ball, but was unable to complete the clear, allowing Lane to drive towards the goal for the deciding goal with 1:56 to play.
Douglas gave LIU Post its first two goal lead of the game with her first goal of the afternoon with 6:14 to go in the first half. Stonehill rallied to force a 3-3 draw at halftime as freshman Kelly Healey (Westwood, Massachusetts/Westwood) scored off a McGill pass on a fast break with 4:41 remaining in the half and then junior Rebecca Matheson (Reading, Massachusetts/Reading Memorial) converted a pass from Rudden with 1:12 on the clock.
LIU Post scored the first two goals of the second half with Douglas again providing a two goal cushion, assisted by Delaney, 8:50 in. McGill got one of those goals back, off a pass from Lane, with 15:53 on the clock before Roche provided the Pioneers final two goal lead less than two minutes later.
Stonehill (14-3, 10-3 NE-10) heads to postseason play and the No. 4 seed for the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament and will host fifth-seeded Bentley University for a quarterfinal match here at W.B. Mason Stadium on Wednesday at 7 p.m. LIU Post (12-4, 7-0 ECC) hosts Queens College tomorrow at noon.
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Stonehill honored its nine seniors and families prior to this afternoon's game. |
