SYRACUSE, N.Y. (May 2, 2026) – The No. 2 seed Stonehill women's lacrosse team captured its first NEC tournament title by defeating top-seeded and host Le Moyne by a score of 15-8 Saturday afternoon at Ted Grant Field.
The Skyhawks now head to the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time with a 13-6 record and have won 10-straight contests, while the Dolphins move to 14-4.
STONEHILL HIGHLIGHTS:
- With the victory, Stonehill women's lacrosse earns its first NEC tournament title. The Skyhawks had already clinched the league's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament with the win on Thursday in the NEC semifinals.
- Natalie Coutu had two goals and four assists for six points to surpass to 200 points for her career.
- The Skyhawks extend their win streak to 10 games, a program-best at the Division I level.
- Nina Tremonte recorded nine saves and was named the tournament MVP.
- Sophia Gouveia scored four goals, had six draw controls and recorded a career-high five caused turnovers. Taylor Green also netted four goals, while Maia Parker finished with seven draw controls.
- Joining Tremonte on the NEC All-Tournament team were Gouveia, Parker and Julia Kogan.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After Le Moyne went up, 2-0, early on,
Sophia Gouveia took a pass from
Natalie Coutu and fired for the first Stonehill goal at 8:55. The assist was the 200th point of Coutu's career. At the 4:59 mark,
Caitlin Ruggiero knotted the game, 2-2, and then
Grace Murphy put the Skyhawks in front by a goal with 4:05 remaining in the opening frame.
In the second quarter,
Val Beigel gave Stonehill a two-goal cushion at 14:15, and then
Taylor Green tallied a goal at 11:23 to make it 5-3 Skyhawks. With 8:47 left in the stanza, Gouveia scored again, stretching the lead to 6-3. At the 6:19 mark,
Emily LaPia converted a free-position attempt, 7-3, and then Coutu did the same at 1:28, 8-3.
Coutu collected her third assist on Green's goal at 12:39 of the third, 9-3, and then Green tallied another on a free-position attempt with 6:53 left in the quarter. Stonehill continued to pull away later in the third with another goal by Beigel at 5:23, before Coutu found the back of the net again at the 1:15 mark, 12-4. In the waning seconds of the quarter, Gouveia netted a goal with 31 ticks left on the clock to push the lead to 13-4.
Gouveia tallied her fourth of the day off a free-position, 14-5, with 10:26 to play, followed by Green's fourth of the afternoon, also off a free-position attempt, with 6:45 to go, 15-6.
UP NEXT:
Stonehill (13-6) will now look to the upcoming NCAA Tournament Selection Show, broadcast on ESPNU on Sunday, May 3 at 9 p.m.
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