Mercer Earns Inaugural SoCon Title, AQ
Thanks to a hot start, fourth-year program and No. 4 seed Mercer clinched the inaugural Southern Conference championship crown with an 18-8 win over third-seeded Furman. The upset bid began Thursday when the Bears stunned No. 1 seed Detroit Mercy 18-17.
Furman got on the board first, but Kelly Hagerty kick-started Mercer’s offense with a goal less than a minute later to spark a 7-1 run.
Over the next seven minutes, the Paladins had a 3-2 advantage, but the Bears scored five straight goals in response.
Furman found the back of the net once more before halftime before Mercer came out firing four consecutive goals to start the second half. The Paladins finished the game with two more scores, but it wasn’t enough to come back from the first half rout.
Mercer’s Lindsey Zeltwanger had a team-high seven points on two goals and five assists, while Hagerty had a team-best five goals and added one assist.
SoCon All-Tournament Team
Shannon Doyle, Central Michigan
Logan Halvorson, Central Michigan
Lexie Kinmond, Detroit Mercy
Kaitlyn Wandelt, Detroit Mercy
Maggie Friel, Furman
Meg Lingo, Furman
Abby Shields, Furman
Kelly Hagerty, Mercer*
Kate Leone, Mercer
Lily Morin, Mercer
Audrey Robertson, Mercer
Lindsey Zeltwanger, Mercer
*MVP
Jacksonville Earns Second Straight A-Sun Title
For back-to-back Atlantic Sun crowns and fifth overall title, Jacksonville defeated Coastal Carolina 25-19 to advance to the 2018 NCAA women’s lacrosse tournament. The Dolphins’ 25 goals set a new A-Sun championship single-game record.
Jacksonville opened the title game with three straight goals before Coastal Carolina got on the board at the 26:24 mark and a 2-1 edge over the two minutes.
The Dolphins then secured a four-goal run to go up 8-2 with 18:26 left to play in the first. Despite two two-goal spurts for the Chanticleers in the final 10 minutes, Jacksonville’s three-goal spurt in less than a minute beforehand led to a 13-7 halftime advantage.
The second half saw a game of runs for both teams with the Dolphins scoring three or more straight goals three times, while the Chanticleers tallied three or more consecutive goals twice.
Coastal Carolina’s five straight scores brought the score within three at the 5:01 mark, but Jacksonville’s and the game’s final three goals sealed the victory for the reigning champion.
Alyssa Arnold and Ashyn Hiron had eight points apiece for the Dolphins, while Sarah Elms led with nine points on seven goals and two assists.
A-Sun All-Tournament Team
Lauren Ey, Old Dominion
Sophia Powers, Old Dominion
Siena Gore, Kennesaw State
Connor Zophy, Kennesaw State
Julia Imbo, Coastal Carolina
Sophie Crowther, Coastal Carolina
Haley Kyger, Coastal Carolina
Sarah Elms, Jacksonville
Erica Beal, Jacksonville
MacEllen McDonough, Jacksonville
Alyssa Arnold, Jacksonville
Ashtyn Hiron, Jacksonville*
*MVP
Fairfield Escapes Canisius in MAAC Championship
With a 14-10 win over Canisius, Fairfield won its first MAAC championship since 2015 and fourth overall in program history.
The Stags opened the scoring with a three-goal run before the Golden Griffins had a 4-2 edge over the next 14 minutes. Each team exchanged two more goals apiece for a one-goal halftime advantage for Fairfield.
With another three-goal spurt out of the break, Fairfield secured a 7-4 second half for the four-goal victory. Canisius came within two with 7:48 to play, but the Stags finished with two scores to extend their cushion.
MAAC All-Tournament Team
Chloe Novak, Monmouth
Kate Ryan, Monmouth
Logan Boyle, Marist
Camille Renaud, Marist
Rachel Ryan, Canisius
Lauren Smolensky, Canisius
Rebeca VanLaeken, Canisius
Megan Beach, Fairfield
Brenna Connolly, Fairfield
Paulina DiFatta, Fairfeld
Kelly Horning, Fairfield
Kathleen Hulseman, Fairfield*
*MVP
Wagner Upsets Bryant in Triple Overtime Thriller for NEC Trophy
In a showdown until the final seconds between top-seeded Bryant and No. 2 seed Wagner, the Seahawks secured the 12-11 upset with the game-winning goal from Lauren Ednie in triple overtime.
The game started off in Bryant’s hands with five straight goals to have a shutout in the first 10 minutes. However, Wagner responded with five consecutive goals of its own in the final 13:40 to knot it 5-5 at halftime.
The Bulldogs again kicked off the scoring in the second half, but the Seahawks then went up 9-6 at the 20:09 mark thanks to a four-goal spurt, with three coming from Ednie.
Bryant outscored Wagner 5-1 over the next 19 minutes to lead 11-10 with just one minute remaining. But with 31 seconds left on the clock, Ednie scored the game-tying goal to force overtime.
After two scoreless extra periods, Heidi Colford assisted Ednie for the game-winner.
Ednie led the Seahawks with five goals, while Ally Alliegro had five points on three goals and two assists.
NEC All-Tournament Team
Lauren Ednie, Wagner*
Ally Alliegro, Wagner
Maggie Jent, Wagner
Erin Kerstetter, Wagner
Jess DeMeo, Bryant
Madison McNally, Bryant
Samantha Santeramo, Bryant
Meghan Crouse, Robert Morris
Dana Davis, Robert Morris
Jillian Petito, Mount St. Mary’s
Kaitlyn Ridenour, Mount St. Mary’s
*MVP
Scoreboard
Atlantic Sun Championship: Jacksonville 25, Coastal Carolina 19
Big East Championship: Florida 18, Denver 6
MAAC Championship: Fairfield 14, Canisius 10
NEC Championship: Wagner 12, Bryant 11 (3OT)
SoCon Championship: Mercer 18, Furman 8