#12 Women's Lacrosse Falls to #1 Adelphi in Semifinals 24-10
GARDEN CITY, NY – The 12th-ranked Merrimack women's lacrosse team saw its season come to an end as #1 Adelphi defeated the Warriors 24-10 Saturday afternoon in the Northeast-10 Semifinals.
Merrimack, which appeared in the Northeast-10 Semifinals for the third straight year, finishes its season 12-7 overall.
Adelphi, which has won 22 straight games against NE-10 foes, advances to the title game to face the winner of #2 Le Moyne and #3 Stonehill in the NE-10 Championship on Sunday at 12 p.m. at Adelphi.
Merrimack led 2-1 early behind goals from Colleen Strachan (Bedford, MA) and Mary Pasquantonio (Plainville, MA), but the Panthers rallied for 13 of the next 15 goals to take a 14-4 lead with 6:11 left in the first half.
"It was a hard fought game," said head coach Corinne Baker. "We stayed in it the whole time and never backed down. Our seniors had a great sendoff in putting double digits up against the defending champs. I thought it was one of our best showings, regardless of the score."
Strachan finished with a team-high three goals, netting her 50th goal in Saturday's semifinal, while Maria DeStefano (Eliot, ME) had two goals and an assist.
Alicia Tinsley (Shrewsbury, MA) had two goals and two assists, while Liz Lyons (Westwood, MA) picked up nine ground balls and four caused turnovers in her final collegiate game.
Inna Hedden (Woodbine, MD) had 11 saves for Merrimack in net, as Adelphi outshot the Warriors 45-26.
Merrimack did force 19 Panther turnovers, 11 in the first half, but the defending National Champs recovered, forcing 12 Warrior turnovers in the second half.
Erica Devito led the Panthers with six goals, while Demmianne Cook scored five times. The two-time NE-10 Player of the Year Claire Petersen racked up 11 assists.
Saturday's game was the final one for the Class of 2011, Liz Lyons (Westwood, MA), Christina McCarron (Westwood, MA) and Maria DeStefano (Eliot, ME). Lyons graduates as the program's all-time leader for ground balls and caused turnovers for a season and a career and is a four-time all-conference selection. McCarron departs with 90 career goals, while DeStefano, who netted her 40th in the NE-10 Quarterfinal victory on Wednesday, eclipsed the 100-point plateau Saturday with her second point of the game.
