FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 17, 2014
Courtesy of Adelphi Athletics Communications
SALEM, Va. - The top ranked Adelphi University women's lacrosse team used it's depth, dominance on the draw from Felicia Mills and defender Camille Rosellini took LIU Post's Jackie Sileo out of the game in a 17-10 National Semifinal victory for the Panthers on Saturday, May 17 in Salem, Virginia. With the victory the Brown and Gold earned a spot in the NCAA Division II National Championship game for the first time since 2011 and set a new program record for single season wins with 21.
Devan Crimi led all players with six points on three goals and three assists, while Jacqueline Jahelka scored four goals, all in the first half. Danielle Jaycox and Alexa Froccaro both chipped in three goals, and Rachel O'Brien had one goal and two assists.
The defense was led by Ryley Weber, who caused three turnovers, while Jacqueline Williams grabbed a team high four ground balls. Taylor Hayes made four stops in net, including two huge point blank, free position saves in the second frame, collecting her 19th win of the season. The draw was dominated by Mills, who won 12 draws herself, while the Panthers picked up 20 draw controls.
The story of the first half was Mills, as she won eight of the 13 total draws in the first half, helping keep the Panthers in their offensive end. While LIU Post got on the board first, with a goal just about six minutes in, the Brown and Gold responded with three straight off the sticks of Froccaro, Jahelka and Brown, to take a 3-1 lead.
The Pioneers would, momentarily stop the Panther charge with a goal from Katie Rotan, that cut the Adelphi lead to just one, 3-2 with 17:37 left in the first. However, Brown and Gold freshmen Jahelka would take over, kicking off a half ending 6-1 run, and scoring three straight for Adelphi, the final tally coming with 9:36 left, on a Crimi feed.
Adelphi showed no let up in the first frame, as Emily Keesling scored the Panthers final goal of the first period with just 47 seconds left, sending the Brown and Gold into the locker room with a six goal cushion, 9-3.
The Panthers kept the momentum early in the second half, opening with back-to-back goals from Crimi and O'Brien to push their bulge to 11-3. LIU Post responded with two goals of their own, to pull within six, 11-5. That would be the theme the rest of the way, with Adelphi pushing the lead back to nine at one point, and the Pioneers closing to within six, but getting no closer.
With just under five minutes to play in the second half, Froccaro and Crimi scored just 22 seconds apart to push the Panthers margin to an insurmountable nine goals, 17-8. The Pioneers would get two more tallies late, but Adelphi came out on top, 17-10.
Quotes:
Coach Grella: "We're excited to finally step over that hurdle and knock off a great LIU Post team"
Devan Crimi: "What makes this team special is that we are all on the same page. We have heart and we have great depth, there is no drop off anywhere."
"Jackie (Jahelka) came in this fall as an incredible player, what she does amazes me. The way she plays the inside is outstanding and she plays like a veteran."
Meg Brown: "Obviously playing LIU Post, there is a ton of skill on the field, but there is a tremendous amount of heart and emotion on the field as well and we have to ride that throughout the game."
Up Next
The Panthers advance to the NCAA Division II National Championship and will face South Region #2 Lock Haven at 2:00 p.m. on Donald Kerr Stadium in Salem, Va.
