New Rochelle, N.Y. - Juniors Whitney Vecchio (Watertown, N.Y./General Brown) and Kylie Rosette (Watertown, N.Y./General Brown) scored six points each to lead Le Moyne to a 14-9 victory over Manhattan in the opening game of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference women's lacrosse tournament at Iona College. Le Moyne improves to 14-4 on the season and advances to the championship game on Sunday for the second consecutive season.
Vecchio and Rosette combined for the Dolphins first two goals staking Le Moyne out to a 2-0 advantage 5:46 into the game. Vecchio scored the first goal off an assist from Rosette and returned the favor less than two minutes later. After Le Moyne took a 4-1 lead on a goal by MAAC Offensive Player of the Year Amanda Keegan (Marcellus, N.Y./Marcellus), the Jaspers rattled off three straight goals to knot the game at 4. The Dolphins responded by scoring three of the next four goals to take a 7-5 lead. Manhattan scored two goals over the final five minutes of the half to tie the score at 7 going into intermission.
Keegan exploded out of the half by scoring two goals in the first 35 seconds to give Le Moyne a 9-7 lead. Manhattan scored two of the next three goals to make it a 10-9 game with 26:37 to play, but that was the closest they would get the rest of the way. The Dolphins closed the scoring by tallying four goals over the final 17:08 to deliver the 14-9 final.
Vecchio and Keegan each recorded four goals to pace the Dolphins' output. Rosette added two goals to go along with a game-high four assists for her six points. Molly Yaman (Homer, N.Y./Homer) recorded two goals, Lisa McCarthy (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee) added a goal and two assists, and McKenzie Gray (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Baldwinsville) scored one goal for the Dolphins.
Freshman Alex Dwyer (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) picked up her first career victory by making two saves in 30 minutes of action. Junior Samantha Falcone (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee) recorded six saves for the Dolphins in the first half.
Le Moyne faces Marist on Sunday at 12 p.m. at Iona College for the MAAC Championship. In their previous match up this season, Le Moyne defeated Marist 17-16.
