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Smithfield, RI -- Fielding a veteran squad with no shortage of big game experience, Mount St. Mary's would not be rattled in its quest to hang on to its NEC women's lacrosse title.
After trailing by three goals early, the second-seeded Mountaineers held off a late Bryant charge to defend its crown and take home the program's fourth NEC title with a 15-13 win over the Bulldogs in Smithfield, RI.
In the back and forth fourth quarter, the Mount's leading scorer
Zoe Hurlburt (Bel Air, MD/ Fallston) scores her 52nd goal on the season to snap a 13-all tie. Just 51 seconds later, NEC Tournament MVP
Dani Donoghue (Ocean City, NJ/Ocean City) helped secure the trophy after she scored her seventh goal on the day to tie a championship game record.
The Mount (15-4) then ran out the clock, and will head into the NCAA Tournament on a nine-game winning streak.
"From start to finish, we wanted it," said Donoghue. "I had faith in my team in what we wanted to accomplish and we did exactly that."
Mount St. Mary's got off to a rocky start as they went down 4-1 in the first quarter with four different Bryant (12-5) players finding the back of the net, capped by a
Cassidy Burns (Massapequa, NY/Plainedge (Manhattan)) tally with 1:55 to play.
Hurlbut's goal with 18 seconds left in the period made it 4-2 at the end of one.
The Mount elevated their game in the second frame, outscoring Bryant by a a 5-2 margin.
Donoghue lit the fire, scoring four of the Mount's five goals in the quarter. Teammate
Erin Anderson (Westminster, MD/Westminster) netted a key goal with 6:02 left in the half which gave her team its first lead of the game.
Leading 7-6 to start the second half, the Mountaineers tacked on two more to extend their lead to 9-6 as Hurlburt and semifinal hero
Chrstina Haspert's (Sykesville, MD/Century) each find the back of the net.
After NEC Offensive Player of the Year
Kenna Kaut (Media, PA/Penncrest) stopped the bleeding,
Alayna Pagnotta (Woodbine, MD/Glenelg) and
Beanie Colson (Westminster, MD/Manchester Valley) responded with two more goals for the Mount to push the lead to 11-7 with 15 minutes to play.
Faced with a four-goal deficit, the Bulldogs weren't about to let the game get away.
To set up a nailbiting end to the game, Bryant made an incredible effort to regain their momentum opening the fourth quarter with four goals in a row to tie the game at 11-11 on a
Margaret Adams (Mattapoisett, MA/Tabor Academy) shot with 9:26 left in the game.
The Mount's
Jordan Groover (Germantown, TN/Hutchison School) found Donoghue in front of the net to regain the lead 12-11, but
Skylar Simmonds (Jupiter, FL/Oxbridge Academy) responded just over a minute later.
After Donaghue's sixth of the day once again put the Mountaineers back in front, Bryant's
Emily Diaz (Selden, NY/Newfield) made things level at 13-13 with 4:15 left to play.
From there, Hurlburt took matters into her own hands on a free position shot and Donoghue iced matters with her seventh goal.
Donoghue's seven goals came on just 10 shots, with nine on target. She matched the NEC finals record previously set by Bryant's Shannon Burns in 2015.
Hurlburt notched a hat trick to up her season total to 52, which ranks second in the league. Anderson scored two goals, while Colson, Pagnotta and Haspert each contributed with a goal for the Mount.
Bryant's
Alexa Weber (South Windsor, CT/East Catholic) had three goals to pace the Bulldogs. Kaut and Simmonds had two goals each.
Madison Bradley (Haddon Township, NJ/Haddon Township) stopeed 15 shots for the Mount, and
Sam Centofante (Valley Forge, PA/Conestoga) turned away 12 shots for the Bulldogs.
The Mount will find out who their NCAA Tournament opponent is during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday at 9:00 pm on ESPNU.
NEC All-Tournament Team
Dani Donoghue, MSM (MVP)
Abigail Zeigenfuse, MSM
Margaret Lonergan, MSM
Madison Bradley, MSM
Megan McCarthy, BRY
Cassidy Burns, BRY
Kenna Kaut, BRY
Hailey Duchnowski, LIU
Alyssa Boll, LIU
Lauren DiStefano, WAG
Kasey Dorney, WAG