Looking Back at Rounds 1 & 2 of Division III Women's Tournament

It’s on to the regional finals in the NCAA Division III women’s lacrosse tournament, but how did we get here? Let’s take a trip through the first two rounds.

BEST GAME

Salisbury vs. Haverford

The last time these teams met was 1989, when Salisbury won 12-10. Thirty-six years later, it was even closer.

While the sides traded goals throughout the first half, the second half was a game of runs. Salisbury shut out Haverford in the third quarter, 4-0, behind two saves from goalie Paige Ellis to take an 8-4 lead into the fourth.

The Fords staged a comeback in the final period, as Brooke Epstein and Bella Gattuso each scored two goals apiece; Gattuso’s second strike with 1:56 remaining in the game tied the contest at 8.

The Sea Gulls scored only once in the fourth quarter, and that’s all they needed. Coast to Coast Offensive Player of the Year Audrey Harrington rolled from behind the cage and scored her third goal of the game with seven seconds left to give Salisbury the 9-8 edge and victory. It was her fourth game-winning goal of the season.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Pomona-Pitzer vs. Colorado College

The Sagehens have been ranked in the USA Lacrosse Top 20 all season, while Colorado College lurked outside the Top 20 for the early parts of the year. It wasn’t until they beat Pomona-Pitzer, 13-8, toward the end of March, that they moved into the Top 20.

Pomona-Pitzer got its revenge, absolutely dominating the Tigers 23-10.

The first quarter was evenly played, and the Sagehens only entered halftime up by three. The second half was different story, as they steamrolled the Tigers. Fiona Lewis led the team with eight goals, five of which she scored in the second half.

BATTLE OF WINNING STREAKS

MIT vs. Scranton

Neither MIT nor Scranton began the season particularly well. The Engineers lost four of their first five games, while the Royals lost their first five games and six out of their first eight.

Both teams turned it around coming into their first-round matchup. Both teams won their conference championships. MIT came into the game with seven consecutive victories, and Scranton won 12 games in a row.

Scranton was all over MIT in the first half, going up 8-2 after a Devyn Tanajewski goal with 3:27 remaining, but after Eileen Hewitt’s goal at the 13:35 mark put the Royals up 9-3, MIT came roaring back by scoring four straight and seven of the next nine to pull within two.

Scranton’s Erin Reich scored at the 7:20 mark in the fourth quarter, though, and that was the final score of the game. MIT only shot once in the final six minutes.

The run for the Royals ended fairly quickly after, though, as they lost to Tufts 17-5 in the following round.

TWICE AS NICE

Stevens vs. TCNJ
William Smith vs. Amherst

Both Stevens (No. 15) and William Smith (No. 11) each won two games over the weekend, the second coming against another team inside the USA Lacrosse Top 20.

After beating Husson 25-2, William Smith took on the Mammoths and beat them 13-12. The Herons needed to overcome a 4-0 deficit five minutes into the game, but they battled back thanks in large part to Kayla Quirk, who scored a game-high four goals.

Stevens dispatched of George Fox 22-3 in the first round and faced a potent TCNJ the next round. The team defense held high-scoring Marissa Lucca, who entered the game with 64 goals and 110 points, to just one goal and one assist as part of a 15-9 victory. Additionally, TCNJ had won at least 10 draw controls in every game, but against Stevens, they only won eight. Stefanie Sellito and Lauren Sullivan combined to win 14 out of the Ducks’ 15 draw controls.

BEST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE

Elaina Corson, Rowan

The Profs’ leading scorer went to work against WestConn, scoring a program-record 10 goals while chipping in two assists in Rowan’s 20-5 victory. The previous record of nine goals was last hit in 2013 by Becca Wood.

Four of Corson’s goals came in the first quarter, with the first two tying the score after WestConn jumped out of the gates fast. The final goal, which came with two seconds remaining, pushed Corson to 100 points on the season, continuing to add to her career high.

The 20 team goals also set a program record for most goals scored in an NCAA tournament game.

Honorable Mention: Amelia Novitch, Babson

Novitch scored seven goals and added six assists in Babson’s 21-9 victory over Worcester State in their first-round matchup. She also picked up four ground balls.

NUMBERS OF NOTE

500 • Salisbury’s victory over Haverford was head coach Jim Nestor’s 500th of his career. The IWLCA Hall of Famer became the third coach at any level to reach 500 wins.

1 • After seeing its 67-game winning streak come to an end in the NESCAC semifinals, Middlebury started what it hopes will become another lengthy winning streak after topping Ithaca 20-5.

12 • Lulu Hardy and Peyton McGuire combined for nearly half of Chicago’s goals when they scored six apiece in the team’s 23-7 victory over Wooster.

19 • By beating John Carroll 21-5, St. John Fisher tied the program’s single-season wins record. With Washington and Lee’s victory over Sewanee, the Cardinals are now also the only undefeated team in Division III women’s lacrosse. In the game, St. John Fisher scored its 350th goal of the season, another program record.

766 • Babson senior Claire Connolly continued to dominate the draw, tying a career-high with 24 draw controls in the team’s 21-9 victory over Worcester. She finished her career with 766 draw controls, leaving her 15 behind Maddie Jenner’s NCAA record of 791.

ROUND 1 SCORES

Babson 21, Worcester St. 9
Endicott 20, Emmanuel (MA) 3
Haverford 18, St. Mary’s (MD) 10
Ithaca 17, Oswego State 13
John Carroll 15, Grove City 5
Lake Forest 13, Carroll (WI) 12
Messiah 20, Mount Union 4
Plymouth State 20, Marymount (VA) 16
Scranton 12, MIT 10
Stevens 22, George Fox 3
Trinity (CT) 19, Meredith 5
Washington & Lee 2, Transylvania 2
Westconn 15, Merchant Marine 11
William Smith 25, Husson 2
Wooster 20, Hope 9

ROUND 2 SCORES

Chicago 23, Wooster 7
Colby 17, Endicott 1
Denison 23, Lake Forest 4
Franklin & Marshall 15, Messiah 11
Gettysburg 13, Trinity (CT) 11
Middlebury 20, Ithaca 5
Pomona-Pitzer 23, Colorado College 10
Rowan 20, Westconn 5
Salisbury 9, Haverford 8
St. John Fisher 21, John Carroll 5
Stevens 15, TCNJ 9
Tufts 17, Scranton 5
Washington & Lee 19, Sewanee 5
Wesleyan 15, Babson 9
William Smith 13, Amherst 12
York 20, Plymouth St. 5

REGIONAL FINALS SCHEDULE

All games scheduled for May 17. All times Eastern.

Chicago vs. Middlebury, 11:30 a.m
William Smith vs. York 2:30 p.m.
Pomona-Pitzer vs. Tufts 1:30 p.m
Salisbury vs. St. John Fisher, 10:30 a.m.
Stevens vs. Colby, 11:30 a.m.
Rowan vs. Wesleyan, 2:30 p.m.
Denison vs. Franklin & Marshall, 1 p.m.
Washington & Lee vs. Gettysburg, 4 p.m.