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Wheaton paced the Skyhawks with a season-high six goals tonight. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Wheaton nets season-high six goals to fire Skyhawks to first win this year over ranked opponent
EASTON, Mass. (April 28, 2017) – Stonehill College, ranked 18th in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, collected its first win over a nationally-ranked team this season with a key 18-9 triumph over Pace University, ranked No. 11 in this week's IWLCA poll and 16th in the Nike/US Lacrosse Magazine poll, in Northeast-10 Conference women's lacrosse action on Timothy J. Coughlin '80 Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium tonight.
With the win, Stonehill (11-6, 10-3 NE10) clinches home field advantage for the quarterfinal round of next week's NE10 Tournament and the fourth-seeded Skyhawks will host fifth-seeded Pace (11-5, 9-4 NE10), ranked eighth in this week's NCAA Division II North Region rankings, back here at W.B. Mason Stadium on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks have appeared in all 19 NE10 women's lacrosse tournaments and will host a tournament game for the 18th time after a one year hiatus.
Freshman Jennifer Wheaton (Dartmouth, Massachusetts/Dartmouth) fired Stonehill to victory with a season-high six goals, to go with three draw controls, two caused turnovers and a ground ball. Senior Elizabeth Vetter (Great River, New York/East Islip) netted four goals and collected a season-best seven draws, with four ground balls and two caused turnovers, while classmate Jenna Gilman (West Allenhurst, New Jersey/Ocean Township) and junior Brianna Doherty (Walpole, Massachusetts/Walpole) each contributed a goal and two assists.
Vetter scored four goals and added seven draws, four ground balls and two caused turnovers. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Junior All-American Kelly Healey (Westwood, Massachusetts/Westwood) registered two goals, three draws and a caused turnover for Stonehill, while classmate Taylor Shannahan (Mendham, New Jersey/Morris Catholic) and senior Kiki Ryan (Salem, Connecticut/East Lyme) each chipped in a goal and assist. Freshman Bailey Grant (Chelmsford, Massachusetts/Chelmsford) made five saves and added two ground balls for the Skyhawks.
Junior Abby Haimson (Montville, New Jersey/Montville) scored four of Pace's nine goals on the night, while classmate Makayla McDermott (Greenlawn, New York/Elwood-John Glenn) added a goal and assist. Junior Casey Gelderman (Farmingville, New York/Sachem East) chipped in a goal with five draw controls, three ground balls and a caused turnover for the Setters. Classmate Alissa Silvestri (Congers, New York/Clarkstown North) made seven saves over the first 44:11 in the Setters goal.
Stonehill staked out a 6-1 lead on its way to a 12-5 halftime advantage and never looked back. Wheaton and Haimson traded goals over the opening five and a half minutes before the Skyhawks reeled off five straight to grab a 6-1 edge after Vetter's second goal of the night halfway through the opening frame. The Setters stopped the run with two straight markers to trim their deficit to three goals after Haimson's second of the game with 11:42 left in the half, but Stonehill followed that with another five goal run, three from the crosse of Wheaton, to extend its lead to eight (11-3) with four minutes left.
Stonehill carried a seven goal cushion into halftime and then the two teams again traded goals open the second half. The Skyhawks nixed any chance of a Pace comeback by stretching a four goal run over nine minutes to push their lead to 11 (17-6) after Doherty's sixth goal of the season with eight minutes to go. Healey scored the first two goals of the clinching run, while Vetter added her 34th of the year.
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