Women's Lacrosse

Bentley Upsets, Pace Rolls in WLAX First Round

Falcons take down No. 3 seed SCSU on the road to open postseason

No. 2 Pace 19, No. 7 SNHU
Box Score

Pace Women's Lacrosse opened postseason play in dominant fashion Saturday, rolling past 7th-seeded Southern New Hampshire University, 19-3, in the Northeast 10 Conference (NE10) Quarterfinals at Northwell Stadium. The Setters controlled the game from the outset behind another strong defensive showing and a balanced offensive attack, improving to 13-4 overall and advancing to the NE10 Semifinals on a nine-game winning streak.

Pace struck first just over a minute into the contest when Mary Kate Nawrocki found the back of the net, and the Blue and Gold never trailed. Mackenzie Carita and Annie Sheehan added goals before Lia Villari scored in the closing minutes of the opening quarter to give the Setters a 4-1 lead after one.

The Setters created separation in the second quarter, outscoring the Penmen 4-1 in the frame. Sheehan opened the period with a goal less than two minutes in, while Maddie SchubertColleen Gilligan and Marissa Doty all added scores to send Pace into halftime in front, 8-2.

Pace put the game away in a decisive third quarter, erupting for six goals. Nawrocki opened the run before Doty scored three times in the quarter, including back-to-back tallies in a 10-second span, while Villari and Abigail O'Connor also scored as the Setters pushed the lead to 14-2.

The Blue and Gold continued to pour it on in the fourth. Madison Wade scored three times in the period to complete her hat trick, Sheehan added her third of the afternoon, and Lindsay Radmann capped the scoring as Pace reached 19 goals for the second straight game.

Doty led the offense with four goals, while Sheehan and Wade each scored three times. Nawrocki and Villari added two goals apiece, while Carita posted a goal and an assist. Sheehan also dished out three assists as Pace finished with 43 shots and held a commanding 19-5 edge in draw controls, led by Sasha Kulo's 15 draw controls. Camryn Smith made four saves in goal as the Setters held Southern New Hampshire to just three goals.

Recap Courtesy Pace Athletics
 
No. 6 Bentley 17, No. 3 SCSU 12
Box Score

Emily Hayward and Callie Burchill each scored five goals as Bentley defeated Southern Connecticut 17-12 in the quarterfinals of the Northeast 10 Championship.
The #6 seeded Falcons will play the #2 seed Pace in the semifinals on Wednesday.

Bentley came out flying and led 6-0 after the opening eight minutes of the game. Hayward had three goals in the opening run and Burchill, Natalia Dutkewych and Caitlin Keenan had the other three goals.

Hayward's fourth goal of the quarter at the 4:46 mark made it 7-1.

Southern went on a 3-0 run to cut the lead to 7-4 at 11:15 of the second quarter but didn't score again until the final seconds of the half. Bentley goals by Burchill and Keenan gave them a 9-5 advantage at halftime.

In the third quarter the Owls pulled to within 10-8 with 6:58 remaining but the Falcons responded with a 4-0 run to open up a 14-8 cushion. Goals were scored by Dutkewych and Burchill in the third quarter and Sophia Pope and Burchill in the fourth quarter.

The teams alternated goals from that point and Bentley booked its trip to the semifinals.

Lauren Rochel made 15 saves on the day in goal for the Falcons.

Recap Courtesy Bentley Athletics
 
No. 5 Saint Anselm 11, No. 4 Assumption 8
Box Score

Saint Anselm, ranked for most of the season, pulled away from higher-seeded Assumption Saturday to advance to the NE10 Championship semifinals, 11-8.  The Hawks scored four straight goals across halftime to run to a 9-5 lead it wouldn't relinquish.  Alya McDermod and Alyssa Hill each scored three times while Aiko Fujita made 11 saves in goal.

Molly Trahan led Assumption with a hat trick.
 
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