OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. – The third-seeded No. 8/12 LIU Post women's lacrosse team will look to capture its fifth-straight East Coast Conference (ECC) Championship Saturday after taking down the second-seeded No. 20/20 New York Institute of Technology 12-5 Thursday afternoon at President's Stadium.
 
Junior Alyssa Mallery led the way for the Pioneers with a game-high four goals, seven draw controls and two ground balls while junior Paige Sherlock and sophomore Jamie Alvino added two goals each. Senior Trish Brisotti, junior Jenna Doherty , junior Sara Stephens and freshman Madeline Schaefer each added one goal for LIU Post. Junior Angela Deren led the game in assists with two and freshman goalkeeper Hailey Duchnowski finished with a game-high 11 saves.
 
While the shots were 29-29, LIU Post had a 21-16 advantage in shots on goal. The Pioneers were also successful on 15-17 clear attempts.
 
While it was the Bears who were first to score, Sherlock found Mallery for her first goal of the contest with 25:38 on the clock. NYIT responded with another to make it a 2-1 game but Mallery found the back of the cage again with 19:50 left in the half to lead off a 6-0 run that also featured goals from Doherty, Sherlock, Stephens and two more from Mallery.
 
The Pioneers' offensive explosion was halted by NYIT with 2:49 left in the half, but LIU Post still took a 7-3 advantage into halftime.
 
It did not take long for the Pioneers to build their advantage in the second half as Alvino made her presence felt, scoring with 28:28 on the clock then adding a man-up goal with 25:25 left to play to give LIU Post a 9-3 lead.
 
NYIT would add another goal to make it 9-4 but junior Jill LoManto assisted on a Schaefer man-up goal with 18:58 left to pay. Deren then found Sherlock for a man-up goal with 18:07 remaining then Brisotti made it a 12-4 game with 6:08 on the clock.
 
The Bears were able to add a final goal, the Pioneers held on for the 12-5 victory.
 
Up Next
LIU Post will return to President's Stadium to play for ECC Championship on Saturday, May 4 at 12:00 p.m. against top-seeded No. 13/15 Mercy College.