The first round of the NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Championship got underway on Friday and the biggest surprise was Florida Tech registergin its first NCAA tournament win by upsetting East Stroudsburg, the No. 3 seed in the South, by a 17-10 count. Caroline Dunleavy had a monster game with a career-high 11 points on seven goals and four assists, and Allie Modica had three goals, two assists and 10 draw controls. The Panthers advance to play at defending national champion Flordia Southern tomorrow.
Hanna Scott scored five goals as Queens beat Regis 15-11 in the other first round game in the South Region. Regis, playing in its first NCAA tournament, jumped out to a 4-1 lead, but Queens responded to take an 8-6 halftime lead and never trailed in the second half. The Royals have won five straight games since losing to Lindenwood on April 17, and they’ll get a shot at revenge on Saturday when they meet up with the Lions.
In the North Region, Jessica Mazliah scored four goals and added two assists as New Haven picked up its first-ever NCAA tournament victory, beating Mercy 12-10. New Haven scored the first three goals of the game and never trailed, but Mercy did rally to tie the game 3-3, and scored two goals in the final 36 seconds of the first half to cut New Haven’s lead to 7-6. Mercy was led by Hunter Isnardi with five goals. New Haven (15-4) advances to play at Adelphi tomorrow in the quarterfinals.
Ryan McKinney scored six goals and LIU Post limited NYIT to just one first-half goal in a 12-5 victory. McKinney scored the first two goals of the game and had five in the first half to help the Pioneers to a 7-1 halftime lead. LIU Post (16-2) plays at LeMoyne in Saturday’s quarterfinal round.
NCAA Women's Division II Opening Round
New Haven 12, Mercy 10
LIU Post 12, NYIT 5
Queens (N.C.) 15, Regis (Colo.) 11
Florida Tech 17, East Stroudsburg 10
NCAA Women's Division II Quarterfinals
Saturday, May 13
New Haven at Adelphi, 3 p.m.
LIU Post at LeMoyne, 3 p.m.
Queens (N.C.) at Lindenwood, 3 p.m.
Florida Tech at Florida Southern, 3 p.m.