Sullivan leads the NE10 in draw controls, ground balls and caused turnovers, while ranking second in goals scored (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Top-seeded Skyhawks host 8th-seeded Chargers in NE10 Quarterfinal Wednesday at 7 p.m.
NE10 Women's Lacrosse Championship Central
EASTON, Mass. (May 3, 2022) – Top-seeded and Northeast-10 Conference regular season champions Stonehill College, ranked No. 8 in both the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) and USA Lacrosse Magazine Division II poll, returns to the NE10 Tournament for the first time in three years in style, opening with a quarterfinal round clash against eighth-seeded University of New Haven, ranked No. 22 in the IWLCA poll, on Timothy J. Coughlin, '80 Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Admission to the game is free of charge. The game will also be webcast live via SkyhawksVision on NE10 NOW, with Mason Stalph calling the action. Links to the broadcast and live stats are available at stonehillskyhawks.com. In addition to watching online, NE10 NOW viewers will also be able to watch the action live on their televisions through Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku.
Stonehill (14-2, 12-1 NE10) makes its return to the NE10 Tournament for the first time since 2019 with its NE10 record 21st tournament appearance overall. The Skyhawks ruled the NE10 over the first decade the Conference sponsored the sport, winning the first 11 regular season titles by winning 100 of its first 102 NE10 regular season games in that span, and capturing a record nine-straight NE10 Tournament championships after falling in the inaugural Conference title game in 1999. Stonehill, which is hosting its first NE10 Tournament game since a 16-9 quarterfinal win over Pace University in 2017, will be aiming to reach the NE10 semifinals for an NE10 record 19th-time, but first since 2017. The Skyhawks would host the NE10 Tournament "Final Four" on Saturday and Sunday with a win tomorrow night as the top seed.
New Haven (11-6, 7-6 NE10), which finished in a tie for sixth in the final NE10 standings, is making its 13th NE10 Tournament appearance since joining the Conference in 2009 when it shared the NE10 regular season title with Stonehill and ended the Skyhawks tournament championship run with its first of two finals appearances to claim its lone championship with a 12-7 win over Southern New Hampshire University. The Chargers have reached the semifinal round seven times – the last in 2019.
Rudden is just two points shy of 100 for the season, leading the NE10 in scoring and assists (PHOTO BY Jon Bourque) |
Wednesday night marks the 16th meeting all-time between these two programs, but the first in postseason play. Stonehill holds an 8-7 edge in the previous 15 encounters after notching a 14-10 victory in West Haven, Connecticut, in the regular season matchup on April 2. The Skyhawks outscored New Haven 7-2 in the fourth quarter, with junior Kayla Conway netting three of her game-high four goals in that frame, to secure the win to halt a four-game skein against the Chargers in the all-time series.
Sophomore Molly Mae Hughes totaled five points for Stonehill in the April 2 win with two goals and three assists, while freshman Sarah Faley made nine saves. Sophomore Gabby Buscemi (East Patchogue, New York/Patchogue-Medford) recorded 14 stops in the New Haven goal, with junior Annie Acquavita and freshman Raegan Bailey each netting three goals for the Chargers.
The winner of tomorrow night's quarterfinal will advance to Saturday's semifinal round to face the winner of Wednesday's opening round matchup between fifth-seeded Assumption University (10-7, 8-5 NE10) and fourth-seeded Pace University (13-4, 10-3 NE10). The NE10 Tournament will continue with Saturday's semifinals hosted by the highest remaining seed at a time to be announced, with the NE10 Championship scheduled for Sunday.
Stonehill rolls into the NE10 Tournament winners of eight straight and having posted a 7-1 mark against nationally ranked teams this spring. The Skyhawks, ranked No. 2 in each of the first two NCAA Division II East Regional rankings of the season, only two setbacks came to then No. 19 Assumption (18-17) and Lynn University (21-16), which is ranked 16th nationally this week. Stonehill boasts the top offense in the NE10, scoring 17.5 goals per game to rank seventh nationally in Division II, while also leading the Conference with 8.6 assists per game (6th nationally), 17.9 draw controls per game (4th) and a .518 shot percentage (9th). The Skyhawks are fourth in the Conference for scoring defense, allowing 10.9 goals per game, also ranking fourth with 10.9 caused turnovers per game (25th) and 18.3 ground balls per game, and ranking third in scoring margin (+6.6) and 14.5 turnovers per game (15th).
Stonehill's powerful attack is keyed by a quartet of 40-goal scorers, with five netting 30-plus goals, led by the duo of senior midfielder Emma Sullivan, a USA Lacrosse Magazine preseason All-American, and junior Lydia Rudden. Sullivan ranks second to Bailey of New Haven among NE10 leaders with her team-high 57 goals scored, to go with 14 assists for 71 points to rank third among NE10 scoring leaders. The two-way midfielder leads the NE10 with 116 draw controls, 63 ground balls and 39 caused turnovers, ranking sixth nationally in Division II for ground balls, (3.9), ninth in caused turnovers 2.5) and 11th in draw controls per game (7.5). Sullivan, a five-time NE10 Defensive Player of the Week that has also collected Player of the Week accolades once this spring, ranks fourth on Stonehill's all-time single-season list for draw controls and seventh in ground balls caused turnovers.
Butler earned NE10 Defensive Player of the Week honors on Monday and leads the Skyhawks defensive unit (PHOTO BY Jon Bourque) |
Rudden enters the postseason two points shy of recording just the third 100-point season in program history and its first since Jenny McGrath, '06 posted a school-record 110 points in 2006. Rudden leads the NE10 in scoring by 25 points with her 98 so far (6th nationally) and assists by 21 as her 63 helpers (3rd) are just three shy of McGrath's program mark of 66 in 2006. The four-time NE10 Player of the Week and two-time IWLCA Division II Offensive Player of the Week, is fifth on the team with her 35 goals and has also chipped in with 25 ground balls, 11 caused turnovers and three draw controls.
Hughes and Conway follow for Stonehill with 65 (7th NE10) and 55 points (13th), respectively, while senior Kendall Fressle has tallied 54 points (14th). Hughes has totaled 45 goals (6th) and 20 assists (10th), chipping in 25 ground balls and nine caused turnovers, while Conway has netted 43 goals (9th) to go with 12 assists and Fressle has potted 43 goals (9th), including a program-record 17 free-position goals, with 11 assists.
Junior Victoria Butler, sophomore Karly King and freshmen Mallory Crispens and Abigail Moynihan, along with seniors Isabella Bourque and Lindsay Duggan lead the Stonehill defense in front of Faley.
Butler is second on the team to Sullivan with 62 draw controls (13th NE10) and 33 ground balls (11th), while ranking third on the team with her 17 caused turnovers. She has also stepped into the attack with 11 goals and three assists for 14 points – tops among Skyhawk defenders. Crispens is second on the team to Sullivan with 19 caused turnovers, adding 28 ground balls, while King has chipped in 11 caused turnovers. Sophomore Lilly Leach is valuable in the Stonehill possession game with 60 draw controls and 15 caused turnovers to go with 21 goals and two assists for 23 points.
Faley is a three-time NE10 Rookie of the Week and ranks among Conference goalkeeping leaders (PHOTO BY Jon Bourque) |
Faley, the three-time NE10 Rookie of the Week, has played all but 90-minutes in the Stonehill goal, posting a 10.78 goals against average and .437 save percentage with 7.6 saves per game in 873:51 over 16 games played. She ranks third among NE10 goalies for goals against average (21st nationally), fourth in save percentage and sixth in saves per game.
New Haven enters the postseason winners of five of seven after dropping back-to-back games to Stonehill and Pace University (20-10) in early April, despite a 15-13 setback to Bentley University in its regular season finale on Saturday. The Chargers rank sixth in the NE10 for scoring (12.8 goals per game) and ninth in scoring defense (11.5 allowed per game).
Bailey leads the NE10 with her 62 goals scored this spring, adding six assists for 68 points (4th). Senior Marina Skelly has added 42 goals (11th) and seven assists for 49 points, while Acquavita has tallied 37 goals and five assists for 42 points.
Buscemi has seen the vast majority of time in the New Haven goal, posting an 11.69 goals against average (8th NE10) and NE10-leading .485 save percentage and 10.8 saves per game over an NE10 high 995:39 in 17 starts. Freshman Gianna Caprioli has collected a team-high 106 draw controls (2nd), with 34 ground balls (9th) and 19 caused turnovers. Junior Laura Agbayani leads the Chargers with 22 caused turnovers (9th).
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2022 Northeast-10 Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, May 4 (at higher seeds)
#6 Southern N.H. (9-6, 7-6 NE10) at #3 Le Moyne (13-4, 10-3 NE10), 1 p.m.
#7 Bentley (8-7, 7-6 NE10) at #2 Adelphi (15-1, 12-1 NE10), 3 p.m.
#5 Assumption (10-7, 8-5 NE10) at #4 Pace (13-4, 10-3 NE10), 6 p.m.
#8 New Haven (11-6, 7-6 NE10) at #1 Stonehill (14-2, 12-1 NE10), 7 p.m.
Semifinals
Saturday, May 7
hosted by highest remaining seed
SNH/LEM winner vs. BEN/ADE winner
ASM/PAC winner vs. UNH/STO winner
Championship
Sunday, May 8
Semifinal winners
