Hughes, the NEC Offensive Player of the Year, tops the NEC scoring charts and posted a team-best six points in the Skyhawks NEC First Round win (PHOTO BY Mary Gettens, '23) |
Fourth-seeded Skyhawks take aim at first NEC Championship game appearance with familiar postseason foe on neutral ground Thursday at 4 p.m.
NEC Women's Lacrosse Championship Information
EASTON, Mass. (May 1, 2024) – Fourth-seeded Stonehill College has a trip to a 13th conference championship game in its sights as it heads to Fairfield, Connecticut, to battle No. 2-seeded Long Island University for semifinal round action of the 2024 Northeast Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament, that will be hosted by top-seeded Sacred Heart University on Campus Field on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Tickets for this weekend's NEC Championship contests can be purchased online in advance for $13.85 via Ticketmaster or at the field on gameday. This weekend's semifinals and championship game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and NEC Front Row with Jack Ridenour and Abby Witczak calling the action. ESPN streaming services can be accessed on the web and via the ESPN App across smartphones, tablets and connected devices. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $10.99 a month (or $109.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App. It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu. The games will also be streamed live on NEC Front Row, where
viewers can also watch the action live on their televisions with NEC On the Run via Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku.
Thursday's NEC semifinal round matchups on Campus Field at Sacred Heart, located in Fairfield, Connecticut, will start with top-seeded and host Sacred Heart (10-5, 9-1 NEC) taking on sixth-seeded Wagner College (6-10, 5-5 NEC) at 1 p.m. Fourth-seeded Stonehill (9-8, 7-3 NEC) and second-seeded LIU (9-7, 9-1 NEC) will play the second game at 4 p.m. The winner of Thursday's semifinals will square off for the NEC Championship at Campus Field on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Leach, the NEC Midfielder of the Year, helps control possession for the Skyhawks with her Conference-high 131 draw controls, while ranking among NEC scoring leaders (PHOTO BY Andy Ferreira, '23) |
Stonehill advanced to the NEC semifinals in its NEC Tournament debut, using an 11-1 run over a 20-minute stretch between the first and third quarters to secure a 19-14 triumph over fifth-seeded Saint Francis University in Sunday's first round matchup at W.B. Mason Stadium. Senior Molly Mae Hughes fueled the Skyhawks to an NEC Tournament record matching goal total with four goals and a pair of assists for six points, to go with three draw controls, while sophomore Grace Murphy scored a team-high five goals. LIU earned a first round by as one of the top two seeds, along with Sacred Heart as the pair shared the NEC regular season crown. The Sharks were edged by Sacred Heart for the top seed with a 7-6 Pioneers win in Fairfield on March 13.
Thursday marks the third meeting all-time between Stonehill and LIU, with the teams splitting the two NEC encounters by winning on each other's home field. The Sharks posted a 13-8 decision over the Skyhawks in their regular season meeting between the two at W.B. Mason Stadium on April after Stonehill secured a 15-11 victory over LIU on Long Island on April 12, 2023. Stonehill has a 25-game series all-time against an LIU Post program that the sister school absorbed five years ago and posted an 18-7 mark against the Skyhawks all-time, including a 3-2 edge in postseason play – all coming in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
LIU earned a tough 13-8 triumph over Stonehill in the regular season encounter between the two as the two goalkeepers shined with LIU junior Mylie Norton and Stonehill senior Claire Smith combining to make 25 saves in the matchup in Easton. Norton made five of her eight saves in the first half as LIU gained a goal cushion it would not relinquish, adding two ground balls, while Smith made seven of her career-high 17 saves in the third quarter as Stonehill stayed within touch and cut into the LIU lead after a five-goal run. Senior Rachel Weber led the Sharks attack with three goals, while senior Lilly Leach totaled a game-high four points for the Skyhawks with three goals and an assist, with six draw controls.
Stonehill is making its first appearance in the NEC Tournament in its first year of postseason access after the Conference presidents voted to waive what was a two-year probationary period in NEC Championships for transitioning members to the NCAA Division I level. The Skyhawks, who won a Conference record ten Northeast-10 Conference Tournament titles prior to accepting a bid to join the NEC in 2022, has won their last four conference tournament contests after Sunday's first round win over Saint Francis. Stonehill is seeking a 13th trip to a conference championship game after winning a record tenth NE10 crown with an overtime victory over the NEC's newest member Le Moyne College two years ago. Stonehill is making its 22nd postseason appearance overall and won a record nine-straight NE10 Tournaments between 2000 and 2008, before adding its record tenth title in its final season at the Division II level in 2022.
Smith posted a career-high 17 saves in the Skyhawks first matchup with LIU (PHOTO BY Mary Gettens, '23) |
Stonehill, under the direction of Stonehill Athletic Hall of Famer Katie Conover, '03 in her 17th season, collected six All-NEC accolades as well as the first two major Conference honors in its Division I era and boasts four players among the top five scorers in the NEC this season. The Skyhawks score an NEC-best 14.82 goals per game that ranks 19th nationally, converting a Conference-high 50.9-percent of its shot attempts while controlling possession with a Conference-best 16.29 draw controls per game to rank 18th in the country. Stonehill has scored a league-high 42 woman-up and 11 woman-down goals this year, while ranking second with 20.06 ground balls and fourth with 7.41 caused turnovers per game.
Hughes, the NEC Offensive Player of the Year and a two-time All-Conference selection, spearheads Stonehill's lethal attack. She leads the Conference scoring charts with 83 points and 55 goals, both totals that are nine shy of the NEC's single-season-records. She is second to sophomore Natalie Coutu in the NEC with her 28 assists, while adding 22 draw controls. Hughes, named an NEC Player of the Week once and Conference Prime Performer a team-high seven weeks (ten career), is one of just 16 in program history to surpass 200-points, ranking ninth all-time with 231 points and 82 assists, while her 149 career goals are good for tenth all-time in 63 career games.
Leach, a three-time All-Conference and two-time All-NEC first team selection, was named the Conference's Midfielder of the Year this week and leads the NEC with her 121 draw controls, which ranks third on Stonehill's all-time single-season list and 14th nationally with 7.71 per game. She ranks third in the Conference with 50 goals and fifth with 56 points, adding six assists, 22 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers. Murphy, a second-team All-NEC selection this spring, rounds out the trio of 50-goal scorers for the Skyhawks, ranking second to Hughes in the Conference with 51 and fourth with 63 points, adding 12 assists.
Coutu, an All-NEC second team pick, leads the NEC with 37 assists (PHOTO BY Mary Gettens, '23) |
Coutu, also a second team All-NEC selection, leads the NEC with her 37 assists, while adding 37 goals for 64 points to rank third in the NEC. Her assist total is tied for ninth on the program's all-time single-season list. Junior Sofia D'Agostino rounds out Stonehill's All-NEC first team selections and has chipped in with 28 goals and four assists for 32 points, adding 53 draws (9th NEC), 41 ground balls (4th) and 17 caused turnovers.
Smith, named the NEC Defensive Player of the Week once this spring, has started all 17 games in the Stonehill goal and ranks seventh among NEC leaders with her 12.95 goals against average and fourth with 9.24 saves per game, while her .451 save percentage ranks seventh. She has played 885:14 in goal and collected a team-high 45 ground balls to rank third in the NEC and seven caused turnovers. Senior Karly King, rounds out the All-NEC selections for the Skyhawks with second team honors and leads the defense in front of Smith with a team-high 19 caused turnovers (6th), adding 36 ground balls (5th) in 16 games.
LIU, winners of its last eight, captured a share of its first NEC regular season title this season and is making its fourth-straight NEC Tournament appearance. The Sharks are also aiming for their first trip to the NEC Championship game, having been dealt semifinal round setbacks each of their three previous tournament appearances, including a 10-4 loss to No. 2 Wagner last year at Sacred Heart's Campus Field. LIU, under the direction of NEC Coach of the Year Meghan McNamara-Cafiero in her 17th season, are allowing 9.16 goals per game to rank second in the Conference, while ranking fourth in scoring offense at 10.63 goals per game The Sharks are turning the ball over a Conference-low 12.69 times per game and causing a league-low 5.94 turnovers per game, while collecting 12.94 draw controls per game to rank third.
Seniors Julia Trainor and Olivia Fantigrossi lead five All-NEC performers for LIU with first team honors, having combined for 68 of the Sharks 170 goals scored this spring. Trainor ranks seventh among NEC scoring leaders with her team-high 51 points, scoring 31 goals (10th NEC) to go with 20 assists (6th), while collecting 71 draw controls (5th), 25 caused turnovers (4th) and 21 ground balls in 16 games. Fantigrossi has scored a team-high 37 goals (5th) with four assists for 41 points, adding 16 ground balls and five caused turnovers.
Norton, an All-NEC second team selection, leads the NEC with her 7.54 goals against average, ranking third with a .476 save percentage, averaging 5.23 saves per game in 596:35 over her 13 games played. Postgrad Amanda Weber and senior Catherine Robles both earned All-NEC second team honors as well and lead the defense in front of Weber. Weber ranks third in the NEC with her 82 draw controls, adding 19 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers, while Robles has chipped in 20 ground balls and nine caused turnovers for the Sharks.
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.
2024 Northeast Conference
Women's Lacrosse Tournament
First Round
Sunday, April 28 (at higher seeds)
Games broadcast on NEC Front Row
#4 Stonehill 19, #5 Saint Francis 14
#6 Wagner 13. at #3 Le Moyne 11
Semifinals
Thursday, May 2
hosted by Sacred Heart University | Campus Field | Fairfield, Conn.
ESPN+ & NEC Front Row
#6 Wagner (6-10, 5-5 NEC) at #1 Sacred Heart (10-5, 9-1 NEC), 1 p.m.
#4 Stonehill (9-8, 7-3 NEC) vs. #2 LIU (9-7, 9-1 NEC), 4 p.m.
Championship
Saturday, May 4
hosted by Sacred Heart University | Campus Field | Fairfield, Conn.
ESPN+ & NEC Front Row
Semifinal Winners, 1 p.m.
