D'Agostino scored a pair of tying goals, the second of which forced overtime, and collected nine draw controls (PHOTO BY Mary Gettens)

Skyhawks battle from two goal deficit after three quarters to force overtime, but can't take lead as Hutchings' fifth goal of the day lifts Dolphins to victory

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (March 16, 2024) – Senior Sarah Hutchings fifth goal of the afternoon 61-seconds into overtime lifted Le Moyne College to a 12-11 triumph over Stonehill College in Northeast Conference (NEC) women's lacrosse action at Ted Grant Field this afternoon.

Hutchings gamewinner capped off a six-point afternoon for the attack, adding an assist to her game-high goal tally. Le Moyne held off Stonehill comebacks from three goals down early in the second quarter and multiple two goal deficits, including that margin entering the final quarter. The Skyhawks forced six ties in the game, with senior Molly Mae Hughes forcing two of those draws as part of a four goal afternoon, but was never able to grab a lead in the contest. Junior Sofia D'Agostino also equalized twice for Stonehill, forcing overtime with her second goal of the afternoon, a rocket on a free-position attempt with 29-seconds left in regulation.

Fifth-year Paige Crandall posted 11 saves in the Le Moyne goal, including a stop on Stonehill sophomore Gabriella Parisi after the Skyhawks won the draw following D'Agostino's second equalizer for a chance to grab the only lead they would need. Freshman Nina Tremonte finished with a season-high five saves in 35-minutes of work in relief of senior Claire Smith who made one stop in 26-minutes.

Senior Reilly Geer added four points with three goals and an assist for Le Moyne, while classmate Rhonee Shea Pal totaled two goals and two assists for four points, added three ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers.

D'Agostino also collected nine draw controls for Stonehill, which finished with a 17-9 advantage at the draw. Senior Lilly Leach also netted two goals with four draw controls, while sophomore Emily LaPia tallied a pair of goals with three ground balls. Sophomore Natalie Coutu chipped in with two assists.

Hughes led the Skyhawks with six points, scoring four goals and dishing a pair of assists (PHOTO BY Mary Gettens)

How it Happened

• Le Moyne grabbed its first two goal lead of the afternoon after junior Grace Detor scored four minutes into the contest.
• After Hutchings' first goal of the afternoon restored Le Moyne's two-goal lead with 6:37 remaining in the opening quarter, sophomore Grace Murphy and LaPia scored 44-seconds apart to pull Stonehill event for the first time with 3:47 to play in the first.
• The Dolphins reclaimed their two-goal lead (5-3) entering the second quarter after goals from Geer and Pal over the final 1:40 and then Hutchings scored her second of the day 2:24 into the second, assisted by Geer, for a three goal cushion (6-3) which would prove to be the largest lead of the day.
• Stonehill closed the gap to one (6-5) at the half with goals from LaPia and Hughes and then Hughes netted her first of two game-tying goals less than five minutes into the second half to square the game at six apiece.
• After Hughes answered a Geer goal with her third goal of the day with 3:21 left in the quarter, Le Moyne opened another two-goal cushion (9-7) heading to the fourth with goals from Geer and Hutchings in the last 68-seconds of the frame.
• Hughes pulled Stonehill back within a goal, assisted by Coutu, 53-seconds into the final quarter, before assisting on Leach's equalizer with 7:02 to play that pulled the Skyhawks even at nine goals apiece.
• D'Agostino followed with consecutive tying goals for Stonehill to answer Le Moyne markers from Hutchings and Pal, the latter with 29-seconds to play that would prove to force overtime.
• The Skyhawks had a chance to win in regulation with sophomore Addie Trefethen collecting the ensuing draw off D'Agostino's second goal, but Crandall was up to the task on a shot from Parisi in the dying seconds.
• Le Moyne won the opening draw of overtime and the Dolphins clinched the win with Hutchings fifth of the game 61-seconds in.

Noteworthy

• This afternoon marked the 16^th meeting all-time between these two former Northeast-10 Conference rivals, with Le Moyne now having won all eight at home with today's result to take a 12-4 lead in the all-time series.
• Today marked the first meeting between the two since a 13-12 overtime win for Stonehill in the 2022 NE10 Championship game in Easton, Massachusetts.
• Hughes has multiple goals in three-straight games and five of Stonehill's six games overall this season, scoring four-plus goals four times.
• LaPia has posted multiple goals in two-straight games for Stonehill, including her career-best five goal outburst at Winthrop last week.
• D'Agostino has scored a goal in four-straight games for the Skyhawks with her third multi-goal game of the season (sixth career).
• Leach has multiple goals in three-straight games and four games this season overall.
• Le Moyne halts Stonehill's five game NEC win streak dating back to last season, handing the Skyhawks their first NEC setback of the season.

Up Next

Stonehill (3-3, 2-1 NEC) is back in action on Wednesday, when it returns to W.B. Mason Stadium to host College of the Holy Cross for a non-conference matchup at 6 p.m. Le Moyne (3-4, 2-0 NEC) visits Merrimack College for an NEC matchup next Saturday at 3 p.m.

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