No. 2 Women's Lacrosse Falls to No. 1 Adelphi, 14-9; Panthers Capture ECC Title
Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (May 2, 2009)- Freshman attacker Erica Devito tallied six goals to lead top-ranked Adelphi University over the second-ranked C.W. Post Pioneers, 14-9 Saturday afternoon in an East Coast Conference women's lacrosse match-up. With the win, the Panthers claim the ECC title for the second consecutive year.
Adelphi remains the only undefeated team in Division II, improving to an overall 16-0 record and 4-0 in conference play. The loss ends a 15 game win streak for the Pioneers, as they fall to an overall record of 15-2, 3-1 in the ECC.
The Panthers struck first at the 26:09 mark when freshman Marissa Mills tallied an unassisted score, putting Adelphi on the board 1-0. Junior midfielder Holly Burke added another goal for the Panthers as she connected with teammate Michelle Ceraso less than a minute later, giving her team a two point lead. Freshman Ashley Olen rallied back the Pioneers as she received a feed from teammate Staci Passafiume (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) to pull to 2-1 at 24:34. Junior midfielder Brianne Jackolski (Shirley, N.Y.) capitalized on a free position shot to tie the game with just over twenty minutes left in the first half.
The teams continued to trade goals for the remainder of the half, as Jackolski and Olen each added another tally for the Pioneers. Devito scored two of her six goals in the first half, taking advantage of a man-up situation for Adelphi. Senior midfielder Katie Hogan (Farmingdale, N.Y.) used a feed from fellow senior Samantha Lyons (Farmingdale, N.Y.) with 1:17 remaimining in the half to cut the Panthers lead to one, as Adelphi led by a score of 6-5 into halftime
Adelphi opened the second half on a 4-0 streak as Devito and Ceraso each scored two goals for the Panthers, giving them a 10-5 advantage. Freshman Ashley Janelli (Glen Head, N.Y.) rifled a shot past Adelphi keeper Caitlin Fitzpatrick, off a feed from Lyons with 22:06 left in play. Devito and Adelphi senior Rachel Ray combined for three unassisted goals to bring the Panthers ahead 14-7.
Lauren Spagnoletta (West Islip, N.Y.) contributed to goals to attempt to bring Adelphi within reach, as she converted a pass from junior Kian Lyons into a goal for the Pioneers with just under three minutes left in play. Passafiume scored the final goal of the contest, to give the game a final score of 14-9.
Sophomore goalie Sam Powers (Holbrook, N.Y.) made 11 saves in net for C.W. Post, including seven in the second half. Fitzpatrick blocked 13 shots on goal to seal the win for Adelphi.
The Panthers outshot the Pioneers by a 33-32 margin. C.W. Post held a 18-14 advantage in ground balls and a 15-10 advantage in draw controls.