Fourth Seed Western New England Claims 2009 ECAC Division III New England Women’s Lacrosse Championship
Courtesy of Castleton Sports Information
Castleton, Vt. - Marissa Bonitatibus stopped 10 shots and Michelle Thompson scored six goals to lead the fourth-seeded Western New England College to a 16-8 win over third-seed Castleton State College Sunday afternoon in the 2009 ECAC Division III New England Women’s Lacrosse Championship. Bonitatibus’s play in between the pipes earned her Most Outstanding Player honors as the Golden Bears won their second-consecutive ECAC Crown.
Castleton’s Marie VanDerKar scored just 32 seconds into the contest, firing home an unassisted tally to give the Spartans the early advantage. Lindsey Fenton evened the game at 1-1 on a free position tally, just 1:33 later. Stephanie Pearce answered for Castleton, converting an Angelica Mazzola assist into a 2-1 lead for the Spartans.
Western New England then reeled off the next nine goals, including two with a player-advantage to grab a lead they never relinquished. Thompson keyed the run, scoring five goals during the surge. Stephanie Paproski scored a pair of goals with Castleton on the player-advantage, cutting the lead to 10-4 with 28 seconds remaining before halftime, but a Fenton tally with just four seconds left, pushed the lead back to seven heading into the intermission.
Nicole Poli keyed a very solid Western New England defense and transition, causing eight turnovers, and forcing Castleton to earn each clear. Poli also scored four goals, corralled five ground balls and had one draw control. Also key to the Golden Bear defense was Veronica Miano, shadowing Castleton’s leading scorer and offensive cornerstone, Nicole Adams. Miano held Adams to just one shot, on an eight-meter free position attempt.
VanDerKar led Castleton with four goals and one assist. The sophomore midfielder ends a solid campaign with a Castleton-record 77 goals, giving her 123 on her career, also a Spartan best.
The Spartans, who lead the nation in scoring at 21 goals pre game, could muster just 22 shots to Western New England’s 37. The Golden Bears also held a distinct 19-7 advantage in draw controls, led by draw specialist, Marisa Hebert’s seven.
Francesca Mazzola stopped six shots in the loss, as Castleton’s season ends at 15-4 overall. The 15 wins breaks the previous record for wins in a season of 10, set in 2008.
Western New England finishes its season with a 12-8 overall record. [Game Stats]
Initial Press Release:
After finishing the regular-season with a 15-3 record, Roger Williams was selected as the number one seed in 2009 ECAC Division III New England Women's Lacrosse Championship. The tournament is a seven-team field with quarterfinal, semifinal and championship rounds. Top-seeded Roger Williams receives a bye for the first round.
In the first round contests on Wednesday, May 6, Roger Williams (15-3) receives a bye. The se cond seed Emerson (12-2) will face No. 7 Worcester State (7-6) at 3:30 p.m. at Emerson. No. 3 Castleton (13-3) plays Curry (11-8) at 4 p.m. at Castleton and Western New England College (10-7) will take on New England College (10-8) at 4 p.m. in the No. 4/No. 5 match-up at Western New England College.
The first-round winners will advance to the semifinals on Saturday, May 9 hosted by the highest remaining seeds. The winner of Western New England College/New England College will face Roger Williams at 2 p.m. in one semifinal, and the winner of Castleton/Curry will play the winner of Emerson/Worcester State at 6 p.m. in the other semifinal. The semifinal winners will meet Sunday, May 10 at the highest remaining seed for the championship.
2009 ECAC Division III New England Women's Lacrosse Championship
First Round - Wednesday,
May 6, 2009
No. 1 Roger Williams (15-3) bye
No. 7 Worcester State, 11 at No. 2 Emerson,
15 Box Score Game Story
No. 6 Curry, 13 at No. 3 Castleton, 15 Box
Score Game
Story
No. 5 New England College, 10 at No. 4 Western New
England, 15 Game
Story
Semifinals - Saturday,
May 9, 2009 at highest remaining seeds
No. 1 Roger Williams 10 vs. No. 4 Western New
England, 12 Box
Score Game
Story
No. 2 Emerson 15 vs. No. 3 Castleton 22
Box
Score Game
Story
Championship - Sunday,
May 10 at highest remaining seed
No. 4 Western New England 16 vs. No. 3 Castleton 8 Box Score Game Story
