Last weekend, LeMoyne got past nemesis Adelphi. Today, the Dolphins got past the NCAA semifinal hurdle with a dominating 18-1 win over Regis (Colo.) University to advance to Sunday's NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Championship.
LeMoyne will face Florida Southern, a 20-14 winner over East Stroudsburg, on Sunday at 12 noon at the Univerity of Tampa. The game will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
Since moving to the NCAA Division II level in 2011, LeMoyne has reached the NCAA semifinals six times, but this will be the Dolphins first NCAA championship game appearance. The Dolphins, who have had five of their NCAA tournament runs end at the hands of Adelphi, had no trouble with Regis.
LeMoyne scored three times in the opening three minutes and led 6-0 before Regis scored what proved to be the Rangers only goal of the game. LeMoyne goalie Hannah George made 14 saves and held Regis scoreless for the final 45 minutes.
It was a far cry from a regular season meeting between the two schools played at US Lacrosse headquarters in early March. In that game, Regis led 7-6 at the half before LeMoyne rallied for a 17-11 win.
Sophomore midfielder Nicole Delany had a career-high eight points (6g, 2a) to lead LeMoyne (21-1). Bryanna Fazio (4g, 2a), Sidney Hall (2g, 2a) and Monica Sanna (1g, 4a) all had big games for an offense that posted 15 assists on its 18 goals. Fazio, the star of LeMoyne's quarterfinal win over Adelphi, also secured eight draw controls.
Lauren Hurd scored the only goal for Regis (17-5), which upset No. 1 ranked Lindenwood in last weekend's quarterfinal round.
Florida Southern Reaches Third Straight Final
Florida Southern, the 2016 NCAA Division II women's lacrosse champion, will be playing in its third straight national championship game. The Moccasins (21-1) started strong and then pulled away in the second half of its 20-14 win over East Stroudsburg.
Florida Southern led 3-0 and 7-2, but East Stroudsburg rode the hot goaltending of Tatyanna Petteway to get back within 10-8 at halftime. Petteway made 11 first-half saves and Krista Mitarotonda scored a pair of goals during the Warriors 6-3 run to close the half.
Meghan O'Brien, who finished with a game-high eight points on five goals and three assists, scored three goals in the opening seven minutes of the second half for Florida Southern, helping the Moccasins open up a 15-9 lead. East Stroudsburg never got closer than four goals the rest of the way.
Friday's game marked the 10th time this season that Florida Southern has scored at least 20 goals. Joining O'Brien at the top of the scoring charts were Emily Santoli (3g, 2a), Shannon Gilfedder (2g, 2a), Aubriana Benedetto (3g) and Shannon Mazza (3g).
East Stroudsburg, which reached the NCAA semifinals for the first time in school history, was led by Mitarotonda with six goals. Petteway finished the game with 15 saves as the Warriors concluded the season with a 15-4 record.
WLAX: WE ARE GOING BACK TO THE 'SHIP!!! @FSC_WLAX tops East Stroudsburg 20-14 to advance to the NCAA CHampionship! Game time is 12 p.m on Sunday! #LetsGoMocs #Chasin31 pic.twitter.com/LyZxku9r5I
— FSC Mocs (@FSC_Mocs) May 18, 2018
NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Semifinals
Florida Southern 20, East Stroudsburg 14
LeMoyne 18, Regis (Colo.) 1
NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Championship
May 20 at University of Tampa - 12 p.m.
Florida Southern vs. LeMoyne - NCAA.com