Quinnipiac to Meet Sacred Heart in NEC Final
from press release
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Quinnipiac
University women’s lacrosse team defeated Mount St.
Mary’s, 11-9, in the Northeast Conference Tournament
Semifinals at Sacred Heart’s Campus Field. Junior Katie
Latonick (Severna Park, Md.) scored once and added five assists for
six points in the team’s 13th victory of the season. The win
also pushed the Bobcats’ win streak to a program-record nine
games, while eliminating the Mountaineers from the postseason for
the second-straight year. Quinnipiac will take on Sacred Heart in
the NEC Championship Game Sunday in Fairfield at 1 p.m.
“This team played to the level they are capable of in the
second half today,” said Head Coach Danie Caro. “I told
them we need to score one goal at time and to chip away at the
lead. This was not our best game, but we had enough at the end to
come away with the win.”
The Mount opened the scoring 28 seconds in on a Kelly Taylor
free-position goal. Senior Nicole Fiore (Monroe, Conn.) and NEC
Rookie of the Year freshman Marissa Caroleo (North Babylon, N.Y.)
gave the Bobcats a 2-1 lead as Latonick assisted on both goals. The
Bobcats and Mountaineers exchanged tallies the rest of the half
with the Mount’s two-advantage, 7-5, the largest of the
period.
Six different Bobcats scored in the opening 30 minutes of play.
Tiffany Manzi (Agawam, Mass.) was the lone player to record
multiple goals as she netted Quinnipiac’s fourth and seventh
tallies of the game. The Mount’s Kathleen Rossetti scored
with five seconds remaining in the half to give the Mountaineers an
8-7 lead at halftime.
The Bobcats scored the first two goals of the second. Manzi’s
goal with just over 20 minutes remaining put Quinnipiac up 9-8. The
senior midfield cut through the eight-meter arc and fired a low
shot off the turf past Mount St. Mary’s goalkeeper Brigid
McTavish for the go-ahead goal.
Quinnipiac tightened defensively in the second half. Senior
goalkeeper Hannah Nelson (Glastonbury, Conn.) turned aside seven
Mount shots in the final period, only allowing one goal. That one
goal came from Kathleen Rossetti with 12:14 on the clock.
Junior Brittany Hauser (East Northport, N.Y.) put the Bobcats back
up one, 10-9, on a quick shot into the upper right corner of the
goal. Latonick, stationed behind the net, passed to Hauser in the
middle of the eight-meter arc for her second goal of the
season.
The Bobcats added some insurance just 32 seconds later. Caroleo
scored her second of the game and 20th of the season on an
identical pass from Latonick behind the net. The assist was
Latonick’s fifth of the game and 41st of the season, building
on her single-season program record.
Neither team scored the rest of the game as the Quinnipiac defense
stifled Mount St. Mary’s offensive attack, forcing several
turnovers in the final minutes. The Bobcats held the ball for the
final three minutes of the game, killing the clock and securing the
victory, 11-9.
Quinnipiac will take on Sacred Heart in the NEC Championship Game
for the second year in a row on Sunday afternoon at Campus Field.
The game is set for a 1 p.m., start. Last season, the Bobcats and
Pioneers played to a one-goal game, 15-14, with Scared Heart
winning on a last-second goal.
