Stonehill College

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (April 30, 2026) – The No. 2 seed Stonehill women's lacrosse team defeated third-seeded LIU by a score of 14-9 in the NEC semifinals at Ted Grant Field Thursday afternoon.

With the win, the Skyhawks earn the NEC's automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Tournament due to Le Moyne's reclassification status. Stonehill also improves to 12-6 overall, while the Sharks fall to 10-7.

STONEHILL HIGHLIGHTS:

• With the victory, Stonehill earns its first bid to the NCAA Division I Tournament and its first trip overall to the NCAA Championship since reaching the 2022 Division II Tournament. This is also Stonehill's first team to reach the NCAA Division I Championship for an NEC affiliated sport.
   

  CHAMPIONSHIP AND NCAA TOURNEY BOUND!!??
  
  The Skyhawks clinch a spot in the NEC Championship for the second straight year and will earn the NEC automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament!!??#GoHill | #NECWLAX | @NCAALAX pic.twitter.com/UTDNHGHBdB

  — Stonehill Lacrosse (@Stonehillwlax) April 30, 2026

• With the win, head coach Katie Conover collected the 250th victory of her career.
   

  Congrats to our leader, Katie Conover, on career win 250!!#GoHill #NECWLax pic.twitter.com/hci1GcJokR

  — Stonehill Lacrosse (@Stonehillwlax) April 30, 2026

• For the second-consecutive season, Stonehill has reached the NEC Final.
   
• Natalie Coutu scored two goals and had four assists for six points.
   

  Murphy to Coutu!!#GoHill #NECWLax pic.twitter.com/umyXKHns5x

  — Stonehill Lacrosse (@Stonehillwlax) April 30, 2026

• Sophia Gouveia tallied four goals and finished with a five-point day.
   

  Gouveia scores again just before the half!#GoHill #NECWLax pic.twitter.com/qQeLsyzcsO

  — Stonehill Lacrosse (@Stonehillwlax) April 30, 2026

  
   
• Grace Murphy recorded a hat trick and finished with four points.
   
• Nina Tremonte finished with nine saves.
   
• The Skyhawks extended their win streak to nine games, a program-best for the Division I level.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Skyhawks opened the scoring with a goal by Sophia Gouveia at the 14:15 of the first quarter, and then Grace Murphy fired for another Stonehill tally at the 12:41 mark, 2-0. Murphy struck again later in the frame with 8:45 to go, stretching the lead to 3-0. With 5:23 remaining in the quarter, Natalie Coutu sent a pass to Gouveia for her second goal of the game, making it 4-1. Meaghan Fealy continued the surge by the Skyhawks, finding the back of the net at 4:40, 5-1.

Stonehill headed to the second frame leading, 5-2, but LIU got back within one, 5-4. With 40 seconds left in the half, Gouveia tallied her third of the game for the hat trick to send the Skyhawks to halftime up, 6-4.

In the third, Coutu scored at 11:51 to give the Skyhawks a three-goal edge, 7-4. Minutes later, Coutu assisted on another goal, this time by Caitlin Ruggiero at the 7:53 mark, 8-5. With 1:54 left in the frame, Val Beigel made it 9-6 in favor of Stonehill. In the final seconds of the quarter, Gouveia found the back of the net at 0:40, and then Beigel tallied another with six seconds to go, 11-6.

Ruggiero kept Stonehill's lead at five when she netted a goal at 10:33 of the fourth, 12-7, and then Coutu scored her second off an assist from Murphy at 9:19, 13-7. With 2:57 remaining, Murphy put the game out of reach with a goal to make it 14-9.


UP NEXT:
Stonehill (12-6) will take on No. 1 seed and host Le Moyne (14-3) in the NEC Championship on Saturday, May 2 at 12 p.m. The game will be shown live on ESPN+.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.