Sullivan, the NE10 Midfielder of the Year, leads the Skyhawks into their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance this weekend (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Top-seeded Skyhawks host East Regional in ninth and final NCAA II Tournament appearance
NCAA II East Regional Information Page
NCAA II Women's Lacrosse Championships Interactive Bracket
NCAA II Women's Lacrosse Championships Preliminary Rounds Program
EASTON, Mass. (May 12, 2022) – Top-seeded and Northeast-10 Conference champions Stonehill College, ranked No. 5 in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll and No. 7 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine Division II poll, opens its final dance at the NCAA Division II level this weekend when it hosts the East Regional of the 2022 NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Championships Friday through Sunday on Timothy J. Coughlin, '80 Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium.
Admission each day to the East Regional is $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children, students and senior citizens. Stonehill faculty, staff and students will be admitted free of charge to this weekend's Stonehill games, courtesy of Student Affairs and the Spirit Committee, when presenting their HillCard at the ticket window. All three games of the East Regional will also be broadcast live by SkyhawksVision on NE10 Now, with Mason Stalph calling the action. Links to the broadcast and live stats are available at stonehillskyhawks.com, and 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 (17-2, 12-1 NE10) will open the East Regional on Friday when it hosts fourth-seeded Mercy College (14-4, 6-0 ECC), the East Coast Conference regular season and tournament champions, who are ranked No. 13 in the USA Lacrosse Magazine poll and No. 14 by the IWLCA, for a first round matchup at 11 a.m. Friday's second game at W.B. Mason Stadium will feature second-seeded Adelphi University (16-2, 12-1 NE10), who shared the NE10 regular season title with Stonehill, ranked No. 7 in the IWLCA poll and No. 8 by USA Lacrosse Magazine poll against third-seeded and No. 9/10 Le Moyne College, the NE10 Tournament runners up, at 3 p.m. Friday's winners will advance to Sunday's East Region championship at W.B. Mason Stadium at noon.
Stonehill will host an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since winning the 2003 National Championship to cap Coach Conover's playing career. |
Stonehill is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015, making its ninth and final appearance in the Division II event before beginning a transition to NCAA Division I status in the Northeast Conference on July 1. The Skyhawks are hosting NCAA Tournament lacrosse for the first time since winning its first of two national championships at what is now SCoackyhawk Field in 2003. Stonehill also hosted the NCAA Championship round in 2001, falling to then C.W. Post in the national semifinals also at Skyhawk Field. Stonehill, which also won a national championship with its lone undefeated season in program history (21-0) in 2005, have earned NCAA Tournament bids in 2001, '02, '03, '05, '07, 2010, '13 and '15, with this marking the fourth appearance under NE10 Coach of the Year Katie Conover, '03, a member of the 2003 national championship squad and now in her 15th season as head coach of her alma mater.
Stonehill enters the NCAA Tournament winners of 11-straight for the first time since winning the first 12 games of the 2015 season. The Skyhawks, who rallied from a seven-goal halftime deficit to Pace University in the NE10 semifinals and trailed by as much as four in the first half of Sunday's NE10 Championship battle with Le Moyne, carries the top offense in the NE10 (7th nationally) with 17.3 goals per game, averaging a Conference-high 26.4 shots. Another key for the Skyhawks is leading the NE10 and ranking third nationally in Division II with 18.5 draw controls per game. Stonehill's defense ranks fifth in the NE10, yielding 11.1 goals per game, while the Skyhawks lead the Conference with 19.8 ground balls per game and are ranked fourth with 11.1 caused turnovers per contest.
Stonehill is led by five 50-point scorers, and the top three scorers in the NE10, including junior Lydia Rudden, the NE10 Attack of the Year who has posted just the third 100-point season in program history and set a new program record with her Division II leading 68 assists. Her NE10-leading 109 points (3rd nationally) is one shy of the program's single-season record of 110 by Jenny McGrath, '06 in 2006, who also held the previous single-season assist mark of 66 before Rudden surpassed that on Sunday. Rudden, an IWLCA All-East Region first team selection, is also fifth on the Skyhawks (14th NE10) with her 41 goals – one of five 40-goal scorers on the team. Her 97 career assists are already good for fifth on the program's all-time list.
Rudden, the NE10 Attack of the Year, leads Division II with her school-record 68 assists, leading the NE10 with her 109 points this season (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Senior preseason All-American Emma Sullivan, the NE10 Midfielder of the Year and an IWLCA All-East Region selection for the second-straight year with her first team honor, leads the NE10 with 66 goals (16th nationally), which is five shy of Stonehill's single-season record of 71 by Kristin Darrell, '08 in 2006. She is second to Rudden among NE10 leaders with her 84 points, adding 18 assists (13th NE10), while leading the NE10 with her program-record 131 draw controls (13th nationally), 71 ground balls (7th) and school-record 46 caused turnovers (9th). Sullivan's ground ball total is four shy of Taylor Shannahan's '18 single-season record of 75 in 2018, while her 212 career draws are second only to Kelsey Reilly's '13 record of 313. She also ranks eighth all-time for career caused turnovers (71), 11th for career ground balls (127).
Sophomore Molly Mae Hughes, an NE10 All-Championship Team and IWLCA All-East Region second team selection, ranks third among NE10 scoring leaders behind Rudden and Sullivan with 78 points on 54 goals (6th NE10) and 24 assists (7th), while senior Kendall Fressle rounds out the Skyhawks 50-goal scorers with 50 (7th), including a school-record 20 on free-position attempts, adding 12 assists for 62 points (12th). Junior Kayla Conway rounds out the Skyhawks with 40-plus goals, netting 44 (11th) to go with 13 assists for 57 points (15th).
Junior defender Victoria Butler, an All-NE10 and IWLCA All-East Region first team selection, and sophomore Lilly Leach, the NE10 Championship Most Outstanding Player and a third team All-NE10 pick, also play key roles for Stonehill's top draw control team. Leach is second to Sullivan on the team (6th NE10) with her 92 draw controls, including an incredible 32 during the NE10 Tournament to earn IWLCA Division II Offensive Player of the Week, adding 32 goals and two assists for 34 points, along with 17 ground balls and 17 caused turnovers.
Butler is a key member of the Stonehill defense, ranking second to Sullivan with 46 ground balls (5th NE10) and 24 caused turnovers (11th), while her 79 draw controls are third on the Skyhawks (10th). She has also chipped in on the attack with 15 goals and three assists for 18 points. Freshman Mallory Crispens is tied with Butler for second on the team with 24 caused turnovers (11th), adding 42 ground balls (8th).
Faley ranks third among NE10 goalkeepers in goals against average (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Freshman Sarah Faley, an All-NE10 third team and All-Rookie Team pick, has played all but 90 minutes in the Stonehill goal in her first collegiate season. She ranks third in the NE10 with a 10.88 goals against average, posting a .437 save percentage (5th NE10) with 7.8 saves per game (5th) in 1.055:04 (3rd) over her 19 games played (18 starts).
Mercy has earned its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance by way of sweeping the East Coast Conference (ECC) regular season and tournament championships. The Mavericks enter their third-straight NCAA Tournament winners of eight straight after their 19-12 win over Roberts Wesleyan University in the ECC Championship on Saturday, but are in search of their first NCAA Tournament win. Mercy boasts the top offense and defense in the ECC, allowing 8.56 goals per game (6th nationally) and scoring 14.9 goals per game, while ranking tenth nationally with 12.2 caused turnovers per game and averaging 13.8 draw controls (fourth ECC) and 20.1 ground balls per game (fourth).
Mercy's six All-ECC first team selections are led by senior Micayla Brady, the ECC Defender of the Year, and classmate Madeline Garvalosa, the ECC Goalkeeper of the Year. Brady ranks fourth among ECC leaders with 32 caused turnovers, with 29 ground balls and 33 draw controls. Garvalosa leads the Conference with an 8.73 goals against average (7th nationally) and .528 save percentage (2nd), with 8.28 saves per game ( 4th ECC) in 913:43 over her 18 starts.
Seniors Juliana Keenan and Taylor Bishop lead the Mercy attack. Keenan is third among ECC scoring leaders with 79 points, ranking second with her 61 goals to go with 18 assists, while Bishop is seventh in the Conference with her 54 points on 43 goals and 11 assists.
Butler leads the Skyhawks defensive unit, ranking third on the team in draw controls, and second to Sullivan in caused turnovers and ground balls (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Freshman Lindsey Shimborske, the ECC Rookie of the Year, leads Mercy with 71 draw controls, 43 ground balls and 37 caused turnovers, while adding 18 goals and two assists for 20 points on the offensive end to earn All-ECC first team honors. Sophomore Kelly Rosenfeld rounds out the Mavericks first team selections in midfield, contributing 18 goals and 15 assists for 33 points, with 29 ground balls and ten caused turnovers.
Friday will mark the first ever meeting between Stonehill and Mercy in women's lacrosse. Stonehill won its lone game against an East Coast Conference member this season, opening with a 20-14 victory at Molloy College who finished third in the ECC standings, while the Mavericks have posted a 3-2 mark against NE10 teams this spring. Stonehill and Mercy have six common opponents, with Stonehill posting a 6-1 record against those teams (Molloy, Le Moyne, Franklin Pierce University, Assumption University, Bentley University and Adelphi), while Mercy is 4-2 against those teams. The Maverick's do own a 12-6 victory over Assumption, which handed the Skyhawks their lone NE10 loss of the season (18-17 on March 30), but the Skyhawks have a combined three wins over fellow NCAA Tournament participants Le Moyne (2-0) and Adelphi (1-0), who each handed the Mavericks losses in early March.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
2022 NCAA Division II Tournament
East Regional, hosted by Stonehill College
First Round
Friday, May 13
#4 Mercy College (14-4, 6-0 ECC) at #1 Stonehill College (17-2, 12-1 NE10), 11 a.m.
#3 Le Moyne College (15-5, 10-3 NE10) vs. #2 Adelphi University (16-2, 12-1 NE10), 3 p.m.
Regional Championship
Sunday, May 15
Semifinal winners, Noon
