No. 2 Women's Lacrosse Falls in ECC Final to Dowling, 11-10
Box Score BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (May 3, 2014) - In its first defeat in nearly two years, the No. 2 LIU Post women's lacrosse team suffered an 11-10 loss to Dowling on Saturday in the East Coast Conference Championship final at Hickox Field in Brookville, N.Y.
Entering the contest, the Pioneers had not been defeated since May 5, 2012, when they dropped a 10-9 decision to the same Golden Lions. The result snaps a 40-game winning streak.
Though Dowling (14-5) took the early 1-0 lead just over a minute in, LIU Post (17-1) rattled off three unanswered goals in 1:17 to grab a 3-1 advantage with 22:03 to go in the first half. Senior attacker
Jackie Sileo (Wantagh, N.Y.), senior midfielder
Katie Rotan (West Islip, N.Y.) and junior midfielder
Jenna Pierro (Holbrook, N.Y.) accounted for the scoring.
Shortly thereafter, Jerilynn Goodfellow (Hauppauge, N.Y.) found the back of the cage for the visitors on a free-position attempt to cut the deficit to one (3-2). Yet, senior attacker
Samantha Losco (Smithtown, N.Y.), who finished with a team-leading six points (3 G, 3 A), and red-shirt sophomore attacker
Alexis Newman (Medford Lakes, N.J.) struck within a 40-second stint to send the green and gold into the break ahead by a 5-2 count.
In the second half, the Golden Lions still trailed by three (6-3), until a three-goal run evened the score at 6-all with 22:16 left in regulation. Junior attacker Jackie Andersen (Shirley, N.Y.) assisted on the first two markers, while sophomore defender Emma Ferreira (Sayville, N.Y.) had the equalizer, via a shot from inside the six-meter fan.
However, the Pioneers answered with three goals of their own to re-claim the three-goal lead (9-6) at the 16:34 mark. The duo of Sileo and Losco teamed up for two of the goals. Senior attacker
Morgan Chiarenza (Nesconset, N.Y.) netted the other.
Now needing three goals to tie and four to go in front with a clock ticking below eight minutes, Dowling pulled off the unthinkable. It scored four straight goals, behind four helpers from Andersen, to grab an 11-10 edge with 1:24 remaining.
LIU Post would get one last crack to force overtime, as Rotan won the ensuing draw control for the hosts. The chance came. Freshman attacker
Stefani Vagelatos (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) had a potential game-tying free-position attempt in the waning seconds. But, Dowling graduate goalie Tina Fey (Kings Park, N.Y.) stopped the shot to seal the Pioneers' fate.
Both squads recorded 21 shots in the game, and were 3-of-6 on free-position tries. LIU Post held the edge in ground balls (18-15) and draws (15-8).
Between the pipes, senior goalie
Katie Hannan (Gansevoort, N.Y.) made six saves for the Pioneers. Her counterpart, Fey, turned aside seven shots for the Golden Lions.
LIU Post now awaits its seeding in the upcoming NCAA Division II Championship. The selection show will be aired Sunday (May 4) at 8 p.m. on NCAA.com.