Links: Box Score
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A 10-goal first half and a six-goal lead at the midpoint set the tone early, and the No. 22 Merrimack College women's lacrosse program would hold off 19
th-ranked New Haven's late comeback attempt down the stretch to send the Warriors to their first Northeast-10 Conference Championship title game since 2006 after a 15-11 win over the Chargers on Saturday at Le Moyne's Ted Grant Field.
Senior
Bridget Schofield led that offensive charge with a game- and career-high seven points on the strength of five goals and two assists, with five of those points coming in the first half alone. Classmate
Amber Feminella also had five points (3g, 2a), while senior
Lauren Trepaney was tremendous between the pipes with 14 saves on 25 shots faced.
The Warriors advance to take on defending league and national champion Le Moyne for the conference crown tomorrow (May 5) back at Ted Grant Field at 1 p.m.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 15, New Haven 11
Records: #22 Merrimack (10-8, 8-5 NE10) | #19 New Haven (12-7, 9-4 NE10)
Location: Ted Grant Field | Syracuse, N.Y.
How It Happened
- The two sides traded the first four goals of the game over the opening 10 minutes, with Schofield and sophomore Taylor Darrell doing the damage for the Warriors. But a three-goal run pushed Merrimack ahead, 5-2, with two of them coming off the stick of Feminella and another from sophomore Haley Bartlett. Meanwhile, on the other end, senior Lauren Trepaney had seven of her eight first-half saves through those first 15 minutes.
- Merrimack added five more over the balance of the first half while yielding just two on the other end to take a 10-4 lead into the break. Schofield had three of them to conclude the opening frame with four goals and an assist, while Feminella and Darrell buried the others.
- Merrimack had two of the first three goals to start the second half with Bartlett getting both, pushing the lead to a game-high seven goals (12-5) at the 23:00 mark.
- But New Haven would score three straight to get within four with 15:34 to play; following a free position strike from Darrell, the Chargers would find the twine in succession to make it a three-goal game for the first time since the 13:21 mark of the first half.
- Bartlett had a big answer to lift Merrimack back up by four with 8:15 to go, but the Chargers refused to go quietly, pulling within three less than 30 seconds later to cap off what was ultimately a 6-2 New Haven run over a 13-minute span that trimmed the seven-goal deficit to three.
- But that was the closest the Chargers would get, largely thanks to a monumental save by Trepaney that was quickly followed by Schofield's fifth and finally tally of the day on the other end to wrap up the victory and send the Warriors to the title game.
Notes & Numbers
- Schofield's career performance featured seven points on five goals and two assists, while Feminella wrapped up the day with five points (3g, 2a) to pull within one point of the all-time program scoring record (265). She also is within seven goals of the all-time mark.
- Bartlett (4g) and Darrell (3g) also had hat tricks, while junior Ally DaCosta would finish with four assists on the day.
- Trepaney became Merrimack's all-time leader in goalkeeper wins with her 21st victory in net; she did so after stopping 14-of-25 shots (56.0%).
- Merrimack improved to 13-11 all-time against New Haven after Saturday's win.
- Shots: 34-39 (25-25 SOG)
- Draw Controls: 11-17 Ground Balls: 17-21
- Turnovers: 13-12 (6-4 CT) // Clears: 16-17 // 15-18
Up Next
The Warriors advance to take on defending league and national champion Le Moyne for the conference crown tomorrow (May 5) back at Ted Grant Field at 1 p.m.
