May 14, 2005

Box Score | Photo Gallery

West Chester, Pa. - No.3 Adelphi University fell to top-seeded Stonehill College, 16-10, in the NCAA Division II semi-finals on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers end their season with a 14-2 record while the Chieftans remain perfect with a 20-0 record and will face West Chester University in the finals tomorrow at noon.

Stonehill took an early lead in the second minute of play as junior Erin Acone scored on a free position shot. Senior Katherine Hock (Mineola, N.Y.) knotted the score just eight seconds later, taking the draw control all the way to the net for an unassisted goal. The Chieftans rallied, scoring the next three goals to take a 4-1 lead with 15:53 remaining. Hock halted the run on a unassisted shot at 15:39. Stonehill answered with another free position goal in the 16th minute. Sophomore Diana Lopez (Farmingville, N.Y.) scored the first of her two goals on a free position, followed by junior Meghan Blume (Bel Air, MD.) after collecting the draw control to close the gap, 5-4. Acone tallied her third goal of the day in the 20th minute to push the lead back to two. Freshman Janet Sica (Floral Park, N.Y.) made it a one point game in the 22nd minute on a feed from Lopez. Stonehill recorded the final two goals of the half to hold a 8-5 lead going into intermission.

The Chieftans continued their run in the second half, scoring twice more to push their lead to five, 10-5. Hock scored her third goal of the day with 24:14 remaining. Again Stonehill answered, on a free position goal. Junior Dawn Anselmin (Lynbrook, N.Y.) notched her first goal of the day with a high shot over the shoulder of goalie Lauren Stone, 11-7. The Chieftans added back-to-back goals, making it a 13-7 game with 18:36 remaining. Hock and Lopez scored the next two goals, respectively, to pull Adelphi to within four, 13-9, with 13:48 on the clock. Stonehill again answered, rattling off the next three goals to push its lead to 16-9, with 2:23 left in regulation. Anselmin recorded the last goal of the day on an assist from Sica in the 58th minute.

Stonehill held a slight 27-24 shot advantage in the contest, but scored five of its 16 goals from the free position line. Although Adelphi held a slight advantage in draw controls both teams were plagued by turnovers, combining for 42 in the game. Stonehill managed to grab 19 groundballs compared with just 11 for Adelphi.

"It's always about the team that shows up to play that ends up a winner," Head Coach Jill Lessne said. "Unfortunately, we did not capitlize on our opportunities. We had chances, but couldn't make it happen."

Senior Colby Confer and Acone combined for 10 goals and 13 points for the Chieftans. "Stonehill is fast, aggressive and strong," Lessne said. "The worked well together in the semi-final game."

Freshman goalie Grace Monjardo had seven saves for Adelphi, while Stone made 11 stops for Stonehill.

The Panthers are now 2-1 in two NCAA appearances and finish the season with a record 14 wins. The team will return all of their starters with the exception of Hock.

"Obviously, it's devastating to lose in your senior year and in your final game," Hock said. "The team has a lot of potential and I'm looking forward to [assistant] coaching next year."

"We are looking forward to a new season that will build upon our success," Lessne added.