Salem, Va. – All-American attacker Alexa Froccaro tallied four points to lead second-ranked and top-seeded Adelphi University to a 10-5 win over the fourth-ranked and second-seeded Le Moyne College women's lacrosse team in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships at Roanoke College's Donald J. Kerr Stadium.
The Dolphins finish the season with a record of 18-4. The 18 wins are tied with the 2011 team for the most in the program's history.
Following empty possessions by each team to start the game, the Panthers got on the scoreboard first with 23:36 left in the first half as Froccaro finished off a pass from Rachel Aitkens.
The Dolphins evened the score at one apiece as sophomore midfielder
Amari Pollard (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) converted a free-position with 20:16 remaining.
Adelphi, the defending national champions, scored the next three goals to take a 4-1 advantage. With 19:01 remaining, Aitkens found the back of the net after taking a feed from Froccaro. Just 51 seconds later, Jacqueline Jahelka tallied an unassisted marker. Emily Keesling capped the run by converting a free-position shot with 11:09 left in the half.
Le Moyne cut its deficit to 4-2 just 58 seconds later as senior attacker
Julia Suriani (Buffalo, N.Y./West Seneca East) finished off a feed from junior all-American attacker
Maggie Monnat (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker). With the goal, Suriani became the 24th player in the program's history to record 100 career points. With the assist, Monnat became the program's all-time leader in assists with the 93rd of her 52-game career, eclipsing the previous mark set by Whitney Vecchio '08.
Adelphi answered back another 58 seconds later as Froccaro tallied an unassisted goal with 9:13 remaining. The Panthers closed out the scoring in the half with just 1.1 seconds remaining as Jahelka converted a free-position shot she was awarded with 3.4 seconds left.
The Panthers scored the first three goals of the second half to put the game out of reach. Jahelka started the scoring with an unassisted tally, her 68th of the year, 1:59 into the half. Just 47 seconds later, Rachel O'Brien scored from the right edge of the crease after barreling over her defender at the right pipe. Following 13 minutes of scoreless play, during which senior all-American goalkeeper
Molly Marbut (Edgewater, Md./South River) turned away three shots from point-blank range, Aitkens converted a free-position shot with 14:12 left to put the Panthers up 9-2.
The Dolphins trimmed their deficit to 9-5 with three goals over a span of 5:31. Sophomore attacker
Alexis Garbarino (Endwell, N.Y./Maine-Endwell) got the Dolphins on the scoreboard in the second half by scoring from in front of the crease with 12:08 left after taking a pass from junior all-American attacker
Erica Geremia (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee/SUNY Cortland). Exactly four minutes later, Geremia scored from the left edge of the crease after taking a pass from Suriani, who was lined up for a free-position shot on the right side. Le Moyne's fifth goal came in similar fashion as Geremia sent a pass to Garbarino on the left edge of the crease in an extra-player opportunity with 6:37 left.
Froccaro completed the game's scoring by firing in a free-position shot with 5:14 to play.
Marbut finished the contest with nine saves to close out her career with 374, the fifth-most in the program's history. Taylor Hayes recorded four saves, all on free-position shots, to earn her 18th win of the season between the pipes.