2010 NORTHEAST-10 TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
#1 Adelphi Edges #2 Stonehill in OT, 14-13

Cook, Mills overtime goals lift Panthers to first NE-10 Championship

Captains Jaclyn Craig (left) and Jessie Ragnio are presented with the NE-10 finalist trophy from NE-10 Commissioner Julie Ruppert (right). PHOTO BY Brian Ballweg.

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (May 9, 2010) – Top-seeded and host Adelphi University, ranked second in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division II poll, rallied for a 14-13 overtime victory over second-seeded and No. 7-ranked Stonehill College to claim its first Northeast-10 Conference women's lacrosse championship at Competition Field this afternoon.

Freshman Rebecca Moore stopped 18 shots and earned a spot on the All-Championship team for the Skyhawks. (PHOTO BY Brian Ballweg)

Adelphi overcame a two-goal deficit (10-8) with just over ten minutes left in regulation to force overtime and netted two goals in the second half of the first overtime to claim the win. Freshman Demmianne Cook (Nesconset, N.Y./Sachem East) and sophomore Marissa Mills (Islip, N.Y./Islip) capped the comeback win with overtime goals for the Panthers. Adelphi netted six of the last nine goals in the contest to erase the late deficit.

Mills finished with two goals and an assist for Adelphi, which was led by sophomore Claire Peterson (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) with two goals and seven assists for nine points to earn NE-10 Championship Most Valuable Player honors. Classmate Erica Devito (Shoreham, N.Y./Shoreham Wading River) and junior Elizabeth Fey (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) each added three goals for the Panthers. Junior Kaitlyn Carter (Mineola, N.Y./Mineola) chipped in with two goals and an assist.

Devito and senior Holly Burke (Churchville, Md./C. Milton Wright) joined Peterson on the All-Championship team from Adelphi. Earning All-Championship team honors from Stonehill are junior defender Emily Kerwin (Bristol, R.I./Portsmouth Abbey) and freshman goalkeeper Rebecca Moore (Marlborough, Mass./St. Mark's School).

Both goalkeepers in the contest were outstanding, with Moore finishing with 18 saves, including nine in the first half as Stonehill took a 6-5 lead into halftime. She also collected four ground balls and a caused turnover. Senior Caitlin Fitzpatrick (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber) posted 17 stops in goal for Adelphi, including three in overtime.

Junior Hannah Anderson (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) led Stonehill with four goals. Sophomore Sarah Galligan (West Newbury, Mass./Pentucket Regional) and freshman Heather Sullivan (Andover, Mass./Andover) each netted three goals for the Skyhawks. Sophomore Samantha Lynott (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) added two goals and an assist, while freshman Kelsey Reilly (Hingham, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) chipped in two assists.

Junior Hannah Anderson netted four goals for the Skyhawks on Sunday. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Adelphi opened the scoring 6:04 into the match as Carter scored off a feed from Peterson. Stonehill responded by netting the next three goals, two from Sullivan, to take the lead. The Panthers then got two Devito goals within the span of a minute to knot the score at 3-3 with 13:20 left in the half.

Two more goals from Anderson put Stonehill up 6-4 with 6:32 left in the frame, but Adelphi drew back within one on a goal by Fey, assisted by Peterson, with just two-seconds left in the half.

Peterson played a role in two-straight Adelphi goals in the opening four minutes of the second half with a goal and assist that knotted the score at 7-7 with 26:43 left in regulation. Stonehill scored three of the next four markers to open a 10-8 lead following back-to-back goals from Galligan with 10:20 to play.

Adelphi then scored three-straight goals, capped by a Fey marker with 6:17 remaining, to regain the lead (11-10). Anderson tied things up for Stonehill with an unassisted goal with 4:49 to play. The Panthers gained the advantage again on another Fey goal with 2:29 to go, but Anderson equalized again just 28-seconds later with the goal that forced overtime.

Neither team scored in the first three-minute half of overtime, but Cook put Adelphi in front 13-seconds into the second three-minute half. Mills followed with her second of the game with 1:35 to play for a valuable two-goal cushion.

Stonehill wouldn't go quietly, pulling back within a goal with an unassisted goal from Sullivan with 1:01 left in the extra period. Junior Devin O'Leary (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) forced an Adelphi turnover with 31-seconds left to gain Stonehill a late possession, but the Skyhawks turned the ball over themselves with 13-seconds to go that sealed the win for Adelphi.

Stonehill (13-3, 10-1 NE-10) and Adelphi (16-1, 11-0 NE-10) are both in good position to earn bids to the NCAA Division II Championships when the brackets are released on the NCAA Lacrosse Selection Show on CBS College Sports tonight at 10 p.m.