WOMEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP PAGE | BOX SCORE
Bresler Earns Most Outstanding Player of the NE10 Championship.
WALTHAM, Mass. – The Bentley women's lacrosse team claimed the first Northeast-10 Conference title in program history on Sunday with a 9-8 victory over Adelphi.
The Falcons' defense stifled the Adelphi attack all game, while the offense came up with clutch goals in the second half. A 4-0 run by Bentley midway through the second half gave it an 8-6 lead, and they came up with big stops down the stretch to secure the win.
The win caps a run through the NE10 playoffs that saw Bentley enter as the No. 1 seed in the Northeast Division. They defeated Assumption 10-9 in overtime in the division semifinalss on Monday and then knocked off the No. 2 seed Saint Anselm in the division finals on Thursday night.
Adelphi, the No. 3 seed in the Southwest Division and ranked No. 11 in Division II, was the last team standing in the way, but the Falcons came up big to claim the 2021 NE10 Championship.
Bentley led 2-0 in the early going after goals by Julia Glavin and Christine Fish. The defense held Adelphi, which came into the game averaging more than 14 goals per game, scoreless through the first 16-plus minutes. Adelphi though did come alive over the final 13-plus minutes of the half with four goals to take a 4-2 lead at halftime.
Bentley started the second half quickly. Goals by Glenna Gies and Glavin from a free-position after just over a minute of play in the second half tied the game 4-4. The Panthers bounced back and took a 6-4 lead after consecutive goals by Alyssa Gillespie at 25:36 and Kole Pollock at 19:46.
After Pollock's goal, however, Bentley did not allow another goal for more than 11 minutes. And it was during this stretch that they went on a 4-0 run to claim the lead that they would not relinquish.
Sydney Lynch, freshmen Caroline Affolter and Courtney Dermody and junior Kayli Keenan had the goals during that run. Keenan's strike, with Glavin on the assist, capped the run with 11:44 to play.
After Bentley's run the teams traded goals. Pollock scored off a free-position for Adelphi and sophomore Kenzie Lupton found the back of the net for Bentley to make it a 9-7 game with 5:02 remaining. Adelphi scored once more, off the stick of senior Molly Fetherston, to cut Bentley's lead to one goal at 9-8 with 2:42 remaining.
From that point Bentley clamped down to prevent the tying goal. Adelphi had possession following Fetherston's goal, but Falcons' senior defender Kate Schmal came up with a ground ball with 1:55 left following an Adelphi shot.
After the teams traded possessions, the ball was back with Adelphi with 34 seconds to go. But Bresler came up with one more big save as she denied a shot by graduate student attacker Alison Johnson with 14 seconds left. Schmal corralled the ground ball and Bentley took its final timeout with 12 seconds left. The Falcons were then able to close out the final seconds to secure its first NE10 conference title.
Bresler was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Glavin was named to the All-Tournament team. She had two goals and four assists in this game and 12 points total in the postseason. Schmal and senior defender Dana Lewandowski were also named to the All-Tournament team.
Adelphi's Alison Johnson was named the Elite 24 Award winner on Sunday. Her 3.93 GPA in sociology led all players at the championship. The Elite 24 honors the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA at the finals site of each NE10 Championship.
-Recap provided by Bentley athletic communications-
ALL-CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
Eliza Bresler, Bentley*
Julia Glavin, Bentley
Cara McCarthy, Bentley
Kerry Ann Flavin, Adelphi
Alyssa Gillespie, Adelphi
Jessica Meneilly, Le Moyne
Lexi Palmisano, Saint Anselm
*Most Outstanding Player
ELITE 24 AWARD
Alison Johnson, Adelphi
NE10 Women's Lacrosse Championship
Friday, April 30th
Divisional First Round Games - Northeast
Game 1NE: #4NE Assumption 17, #5NE SNHU 3
Game 2NE: #3NE Franklin Pierce 15, #6NE Saint Michael's 7
Divisional First Round Games – Southwest
Game 1SW: #4SW New Haven 14, #5SW SCSU 6
Game 2SW: #3SW Adelphi 20, #6SW American International 3
Game 3SW: #2SW Pace 20, #7SW Saint Rose 8
Monday, May 3rd
Divisional Semifinals – Northeast
Game 3NE: #1NE Bentley 10, #4NE Assumption 9 (2OT)
Game 4NE: #2NE Saint Anselm 17, #3NE Franklin Pierce 14
Divisional Semifinals – Southwest
Game 4SW: #1SW Le Moyne 17, #4SW New Haven 5
Game 5SW: #3SW Adelphi 18, #2SW Pace 12
Thursday, May 6th
Divisional Finals – Northeast
Game 5NE: #1NE Bentley 13, #2NE Saint Anselm 10
Divisional Finals – Southwest
Game 6SW: #3SW Adelphi 9, #1SW Le Moyne 8
Sunday, May 9th
Championship Final
#1NE Bentley 9, #3SW Adelphi 8
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.