NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. -Sophomore Whitney Vecchio (Watertown, N.Y./General Brown) scored four goals and assisted on two, while tournament MVP Kylie Rosette (Watertown, N.Y./General Brown) scored three goals and assisted on two more as top-seeded Le Moyne held off No. 2 Canisius 15-10 in the MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship game. The Dolphins (15-3), winners of three MAAC titles in the last five seasons, will meet Patriot League winner Holy Cross in an NCAA Play-in game next weekend.
Le Moyne goalkeeper Samantha Falcone (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee), the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, made 15 saves to slow the Golden Griffins' (12-7) powerful offense. Sophomore Beth Sierotnik (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) limited MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Whitney Card to one goal and one assist, while classmate Leah Mazella (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) held first-team all-conference performer Alana Chan to one goal and one assist.
Vechio and Rosette, former high school teammates at General Brown, were joined in the goal-scoring column by six other Dolphins. Freshman Lisa McCarthy (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee) scored two goals and tallied two assists, Emily Donnells (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan) netted two goals, while Amanda Keegan (Marcellus, N.Y./Marcellus), Mazella, Karla Hardy (Tully, N.Y./Tully) and Lauren Byrne (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) scored one each.
"This is the number one thing that we were working for all season. The championship was the goal - we've taken games one at a time and the team did this step-by-step," O'Connor said. "Even when things aren't going our way, we've been able to focus on the goals. We've worked so hard and I believe good luck comes to those who work hard."
Canisius scored three of the game's first four goals to take a 3-1 lead on Lauren Walsh's goal with 22:24 remaining in the opening half. Le Moyne scored five of the next six goals and took a 6-5 edge into the intermission. Rosette scored one goal and set up scores by Donnells and McCarthy over the Le Moyne run.
After the two teams traded goals in the opening minutes of the second half, Donnells ignited a six-goal burst that put the game out of reach. Donnells converted a free position shot eight minutes and 41 seconds into the second half, Vecchio scored an unassisted goal, McCarthy, Vecchio and Hardy added goals as Le Moyne turned a 7-6 lead into a 13-6 bulge with 11:50 remaining.
Liz Hewitt (Liverpool, N.Y./Liverpool), McCarthy, Vecchio and Falcone joined Rosette, who scored six goals and assisted on two in Le Moyne's semifinal 14-6 win over Manhattan, on the MAAC all-tournament team. Canisius was making its first appearance in the MAAC tournament. Le Moyne won the league tournament in 2002 and 2003. The team received an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament each of those seasons. A time for the NCAA Play-in on Saturday (May 6) at Holy Cross has not been announced.
All-Tournament Team
Jenny Carman, Manhattan
Alicia Psillos, Manhattan
Beth Loffredo, Fairfield
Abbey Goodwin, Fairfield
Whitney Card, Canisius
Erica Nasca, Canisius
Alana Chan, Canisius
Liz Hewitt, Le Moyne
Lisa McCarthy, Le Moyne
Whitney Vecchio, Le Moyne
Samantha Falcone, Le Moyne
Kylie Rosette, Le Moyne
Most Valuable Player
Kylie Rosette, Le Moyne
