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Fairfield, CT — There’s a first time for everything.
 
For LIU, it was a season of firsts. Coming off a campaign that yielded a program-best nine conference victories and a share of the school’s first-ever Northeast Conference (NEC) regular season crown, the Sharks put a bow on their historic season by hunting down the NEC women’s lacrosse championship for the first time ever.
 
The Sharks did so in dominant fashion, as they led wire-to-wire to upend defending league champion Sacred Heart by way of a 10-7 final.
 
LIU rode the coattails of a star-studded performance by junior Mylie Norton to avenge a 7-6 regular-season loss to the Pios and score the win when it mattered most. The netminder stole the show in Saturday’s championship, denying Sacred Heart of several scoring opportunities to claim NEC Tournament MVP honors.
 
Norton made 10 saves on 28 shots faced to cap off a stellar tournament. In two victories, the Sharks’ goalkeeper posted a 7.00 goals-against average and a .548 save percentage.
 
Norton also earned a spot on the NEC All-Tournament Team, where she was joined by fellow Sharks Oliva Fantigrossi, Julia Trainor and Gina Toscano. Sacred Heart landed three All-Tournament Team honorees in Maggie Araneo, Ellie Holt and Emma Kittredge.
 
The first 15 minutes was all LIU with the Sharks pitching a shutout against the home squad. Rachel Weber, Lindsey Lucia and Jen Gaffney all tallied goals in the opening frame as the Sharks took a 3-0 lead into the second quarter.
 
After Sacred Heart made it a brand new game by opening the second with three consecutive scores, Pierson Schuchart and Erin Harkins found the back of the net with less than three minutes left in the half to give LIU a 5-3 lead at the break.
 
A five-goal second half proved to be the difference in the game. Weber and Harkins each tickled the twine after a Pioneers’ score on extra-player opportunities to extend the advantage back to three with 5:30 to go in the third. The Pios closed the gap to two on three more occasions, but following a Ryann Kearns player-up goal that made it 9-7, they would be held off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game.

Gaffney, Harkins and Weber netted two goals apiece to pace the Sharks, who became the second NEC opponent this season to put up double-digits againt Sacred Heart, the league's leader in goals-against average. Earning its 10th-straight win, LIU also snapped the Pioneers' nine-game win streak with the triumph.
 
The Sharks will learn their first-ever NCAA Tournament opponent during the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Selection Show, which will air on Sunday at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.

NEC All-Tournament Team
Mylie Norton, LIU (MVP)
Olivia Fantigrossi, LIU
Julia Trainor, LIU
Gina Toscano, LIU
Maggie Araneo, Sacred Heart
Ellie Holt, Sacred Heart
Emma Kittredge, Sacred Heart
Sofia D’Agostino, Stonehill 
Grace Murphy, Stonehill 
Ryan Murphy, Wagner
Kelsey Scheidel, Wagner