May 1, 2006
South Easton, Mass. ? Stonehill College has received the top seed for the Northeast-10 Conference Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament, presented by STX Lacrosse. The Skyhawks captured their eighth-straight regular season crown and will look to defend their championship title, which they have claimed every season since 2000.
Stonehill, who has captured six NE-10 championship titles overall, won this year's conference regular season championship with a perfect 10-0 record (14-3 overall).
The Quarterfinal round begins Wednesday, May 3 as #3 seed Bryant University (8-2 NE-10, 10-4 overall) hosts sixth seed Saint Anselm College (5-5 NE-10, 7-7-1 overall) at 4:00 p.m. while #4 seed Bentley College (6-4 NE-10, 7-7 overall) hosts #5 Southern New Hampshire University (6-4 NE-10, 7-4 overall) at 7:00 p.m.
The Final Four will then advance to Stonehill on Saturday, May 6 as the top seed Stonehill hosts the winner of Bentley-Southern New Hampshire at 1:00 p.m., while second seed Merrimack College (9-1 NE-10, 11-3 overall) host the winner of Bryant-Saint Anselm contest at 3:30 p.m.
The Championship is slated for Sunday, May 7, at Stonehill's W.B. Mason Stadium. The match will begin at 1:00 p.m.
NOTES: Stonehill, the defending NCAA National Champion, is the six-time defending conference tournament champion, defeated Merrimack in last year's title game 16-3. Stonehill, ranked third in last week's IWLCA Division II national poll, has been ranked in the IWLCA top 10 for each of the past 53 weeks? Last year's NE-10 Final Four included Stonehill, Merrimack, Bryant and Assumption? Stonehill has advanced to the championship match in every season that the conference has sponsored the championship (1999)? Merrimack is led by head coach Katie Lambert who was the conference's Freshman of the Year in 2000, Player of the Year the following three years in a row and a national champion in 2003 while a member of the Stonehill program. Merrimack has appeared in the NE-10 championship match in 2001 and 2005? Bryant will be making its fourth-straight trip to the NE-10 tournament and has appeared in the championship match in 2003 and 2004? The tournament has featured only one overtime game when Bentley topped Saint Michael's 8-7 in two overtimes in 2000? In just its third season as a varsity sport, Southern New Hampshire has qualified for the NE-10 Tournament? Saint Anselm has advanced to the NE-10 tournament for the third-straight time.
Northeast-10 Women's Lacrosse Quarterfinals
Wednesday, May 3
Game 1: #6 Saint Anselm at #3 Bryant - 4:00 p.m.
Game 2: #5 Southern New Hampshire at #4 Bentley - 7:00 p.m.
Northeast-10 Women's Lacrosse Semifinals at Stonehill
Saturday, May 6
Game 3: Game 2 winner at #1 Stonehill - 1:00 p.m.
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. #2 Merrimack - 3:30 p.m.
Northeast-10 Women's Lacrosse Championship at Stonehill
Sunday, May 7
Game 5: Semifinal winners 1:00 p.m.
