Monmouth Defeats Marist in the Semifinal of the Women's Lacrosse Championship
MAAC Sports
BUFFALO, NY – Third-seed Monmouth University defeated second-seed Marist College, 9-3, in the first semifinal of the 2016 Women’s Lacrosse Championship in Buffalo, New York at Demske Sports Complex on the campus of Canisius College.
In the first half, Monmouth got on the board one minute into the contest on a free position goal from Alexa Smith giving the Hawks an early 1-0 lead. Less than five minutes later at the 24:24 mark, All-MAAC First team selection, Marial Pierce scored her first goal of the day giving Monmouth a 2-0 edge. MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, Allison Gionta would quickly respond at 22:51, getting Marist on the board on a free positon goal. Monmouth would not allow another score by Marist in the half, pushing its advantage to 5-1 at the break on one more goal apiece from Pierce and Smith, while Michelle Gonzales closed out the half with a goal on an assists from Pierce with just under five minutes left in the first. Monmouth out shot Marist 14-7 in the opening half.
Not much changed in the second half as the Hawks extended their lead to 7-1 after Smith’s third goal of the game and a free position score from Caroline Corbliss. Gionta would score her second goal on the evening at the 10:31 mark for Marist followed by a goal from Lauren Mazza off an assists from Gionta, cutting the deficit to 7-3 with just under seven minutes to play. Monmouth closed out the contest with two more scores, an unassisted goal by Carly Sane (4:04) and Pierce’s third goal (1:40) to finish the game with a 9-3 victory and a trip to its first ever MAAC title game.
Pierce and Smith led the way for Monmouth with three goals each. The Hawks keeper and All-MAAC First team choice, Caroline Huelster made five saves in goal.
The Red Foxes were led by Gionta’s two goals and one assists, while goalkeeper Abigail Witczak made five stops.
Monmouth advances to the MAAC title game for the first time in program history and makes its first trip to a conference title since 2013 when they advanced to the NCAA Championship. The Hawks will face the winner of top-seed Canisius College and fifth-seed Fairfield University on Sunday, May 8 at 12:00 p.m. live on ESPN3.
The winner of the 2016 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship earns the league’s automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Division I Women’s Lacrosse Championship. The NCAA Division I selection announcement will take place on Sunday, May 8 at 9:00 p.m. on NCAA.com.
For all up-to-date information on women’s lacrosse, visit maacsports.com and for championship information, visit maacsports.com/womenslax