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Fairfield, CT -- Top-seeded Sacred Heart laid claim to its second-straight Northeast Conference (NEC) women’s lacrosse title on Sunday afternoon with an 11-6 win over in-state rival and second seeded Quinnipiac at Campus Field in Fairfield, CT. Sacred Heart senior Mary Montesarchio (Cortlandt Manor, NY) was named the NEC Tournament Most Valuable Player after finishing with five goals in the two games. The Pioneers now advance to the NCAA Play-In Game facing MAAC Champion Fairfield on Saturday, May 2nd at 3:00 pm.
"We hit our stride at the right time and played two complete games this weekend," stated Sacred Heart head coach Laura Cook. "Everyone stepped up, that’s what won it for us. I couldn’t be more proud of these girls especially our great senior leaders, Amanda Williams, Mark Montesarchio and Erika Spadafora."
Both teams battle through some championship game nerves over the game’s first 10 minutes with Sacred Heart turning it over four times with three failed clears before getting their first shot off. Quinnipiac struck first as senior midfielder Ashley Valentine (Friendship, MD) buried an 8-meter free-position attempt at 21:31.
The Pioneers (12-6) began to dominate the draw circle and ignited an offensive run to take control of the game. Junior Cori Horelik (South Windsor, CT) opened the scoring for Sacred Heart, recording the first of her career-high five goals with 17:49 on the clock to ignite a four-goal run over nearly a three minute span. Junior Carissa Hauser (East Northport, NY) and Horelik buried unassisted goals and NEC Player of the Year Amanda Williams (Monroe, CT), a senior attacker, finished a Hauser feed for a 4-1 Pioneer lead at the 15:07 mark.
Quinnipiac (13-3) closed out the scoring in the first half as Valentine notched her second goal, an unassisted tally with 8:39 to play, and the two teams went scoreless in to the break with the Pioneers up 4-2. Sacred Heart won five draws in the first half as both teams turned it over six times apiece.
The Pioneer defense took over in the second half, holding the Bobcats off the scoreboard for over 18 minutes to put the game away. Quinnipiac scored first following intermission as junior Brittany Hauser (East Northport, NY) connected just over two minutes into the closing stanza, but the Bobcats were unable to strike again until the nine minute mark.
Sacred Heart broke open the one-goal game with five-straight scores to take a commanding 9-3 lead with 10:26 to play. Montesarchio started the five-goal rally with her first of the day at 27:39 and ended it a 17 minutes later with her second unassisted marker. In between Williams tacked on a pair and Horelik collected her third of the afternoon.
Valentine ended the rally with her third of the day at 9:03, but the Pioneers ended the game with two more off the stick of Horelik over the final five minutes to put away the 11-6 win, their second-straight against the Bobcats for the league title.
Horelik’s five goal effort earned the junior a spot on the NEC All-Tournament Team joining teammates Williams and juniors Chelsea Wagner (Aurora, CO) and Jackie Pierce (Cortlandt Manor, NY). Wagner made 10 stops in goal for the Pioneers on Sunday, five in each half. Pierce had a pair of draw wins and caused four turnovers with three grounders.
Sacred Heart’s Hauser finished with a goal and a pair of assists to go with a game-high five draw wins. The Pioneers took 13 of the 23 draws taken and outshot the Bobcats, 24-20, on Sunday.
Quinnipiac was led by Valentine’s three goals along with three assists from junior Katie Latonick (Severna Park, MD). Junior goalkeeper Hannah Nelson (Glastonbury, CT) made six saves in goal. Latonick along with her sister Meghan Latonick (Severna Park, MD) and sophomore Lauren Matuszcak (East Longmeadow, MA) earned spots on the All-Tournament team.
"We did not play our best game today," said Quinnipiac head coach Danie Caro. "To Sacred Heart’s credit they came out an executed when they had to and we did not. Give credit, the best team won today."
Rounding out the 2009 NEC All-Tournament team was sophomore Aly Jost (Abingdon, MD) and senior Kathleen Rossetti (Perry Hall, MD) from Mount St. Mary’s and junior Shawn Evans (Moorestown, NJ) and junior Megan Brennan (King of Prussia, PA) from Monmouth.
The Pioneers become the first team in Sacred Heart history to claim back-to-back NEC Championships since joining the conference in 1999-2000. Sacred Heart is also the latest in a string of back-to-back champions. Prior to the Pioneers, Monmouth (2006, 2007), Mount St. Mary’s (2004, 2005) and UMBC (2002, 2003) all won two straight league crowns.
NEC All-Tournament Team:
Monmouth: Megan Brennan (Jr., MF)
Monmouth: Shawn Evans (Jr., MF)
Mount St. Mary’s: Aly Jost (So, D)
Mount St. Mary’s: Kathleen Rossetti (Sr, MF)
Quinnipiac: Katie Latonick (Jr., A)
Quinnipiac: Meghan Latonick (Sr, D)
Quinnipiac: Lauren Matuszcak (So, MF)
Sacred Heart: Cori Horelik (Jr. MF)
Sacred Heart: Jackie Pierce (Jr, D)
Sacred Heart: Chelsea Wagner (Jr, GK)
Sacred Heart: Amanda Williams (Sr, A)
Tournament MVP
Sacred Heart: Mary Montesarchio (Sr., MF)
