The women’s lacrosse team has made it to the Northeast Conference Championship game the past three years. It has lost in the championship game all three years. This year, its fourth time in the final game, the team made Quinnipiac women’s lacrosse history.
The Bobcats captured their first NEC Championship Sunday afternoon, defeating the Mount St. Mary Mountaineers 15-3.
“I thought everybody played well,” Quinnipiac head coach Danie Caro said. “We brought our A-game. I was so happy for the kids. They came out and they were fired up from the very first minute, and they brought it home. I can’t be happier.”
Lauren Matuszczak, Marissa Caroleo, Jennifer Skipper and Noelle Martello were named to the NEC All-Tournament team, while Devon Gibney took the title of tournament MVP.
Three Mountaineers—Ally Jost, Nicole Price and Jen Semler—also received honors by making the NEC All-Tournament team.
“Quinnipiac played out of this world,” Mount St. Mary’s head coach B.J. Lucey said. “They really were here on a mission, and I know they felt that way all season, and they came out better than us today.”
What started out as a slow start for both teams, with the Bobcats being ahead 2-1, ended with 7:51 remaining in the half. Quinnipiac went on a nine-goal run until midway into the second half of the game. The Bobcats went on to score four more goals after Semler broke Quinnipiac’s streak.
“We all played amazing together, and mainly, all the seniors we’re really going to miss,” Gibney said. “They were so excited for the game. They got us all pumped for it, and we executed.”
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Having the advantage of home turf helped, considering they practice there for hours every day. It’s “where it all happens,” according to Gibney.
“It helps having our fans here,” Caro said. “It helps having our support staff here. It’s nice to be able to win in front of a home crowd.”
The Bobcats’ All-Tournament team members and Gibney made contributions in Friday’s 18-9 win over Sacred Heart. Caroleo and Skipper tallied six goals over the course of the tournament, while Matuszczak put up seven and Gibney recorded eight. Martello made 22 saves.
“We’ve played [Sacred Heart and Mount St. Mary’s] before in the regular season, and they were good,” Gibney said. “It wasn’t an easy win, but we did what we had to do and we executed.”
Photo credit: Matt Eisenberg
