HOBOKEN, N.J. (May 11, 2008) – Freshman attacker Leah Wasserman had another career performance on Saturday afternoon as she tied the school record for most points in a single game with 10 on eight goals and two assists to lift the second-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology women's lacrosse team to its first-ever ECAC Division III Metro-South Championship with a 22-16 decision against top-seeded Dickinson College at the De Baun Athletic Complex in Hoboken, N.J. With the win, the Ducks ended off the year with a 14-6 record. As for the Red Devils, they dropped to a final ledger of 12-6.
The only other player to accomplish this feat was former standout Valerie Barnhart, who recorded 10 points in four different games over her four-year career (2002-05). Wasserman was also selected as the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament by the ECAC after recording 18 points off 13 goals and five assists during the two contests. Moreover, two of those tallies proved to be the game-winner in the respective matches.
Freshman midfielder Michelle Buonacuore amassed six points on three goals and three assists. Freshman midfielder Christine Smith collected four points (two goals, two assists) as well as five ground balls five draw controls and four caused turnovers. Sophomore attacker Alyssa Pigott and freshman defender/midfielder Kate Cox each posted four points on two goals and a pair of assists. Pigott also picked up three ground balls and caused a game-high five turnovers.
Senior attacker Liz Mather added five points (one goal, four assists). Sophomore attacker Katie Lalli netted a pair of goals on four shots. Sophomore midfielder Kara Borzillo and senior midfielder Kaitlyn Roes notched a goal apiece. Senior goalie Stephanie Linder turned aside a game-high 16 shots.
Dickinson was headed up by freshman attacker/midfielder Sunnie Ko (Springfield, Va.) and junior attacker Amy Jennings (Baltimore, Md.), who each finished with five points. Ko had four goals and an assist. Jennings earned one goal and four assists. Sophomore midfielder Alysa Crellin (Little Compton, R.I.) scored four goals. She also won eight draw controls. Sophomore attacker Abby Larson (Easton, Md.) and freshman midfielder Kelsey Muir (Glen Mills, Pa.) amassed two goals each. Larson also collected four draws. Freshman goaltender Jessie Clark (Devon, Pa.) made 13 saves in the cage for the Red Devils.
Trailing 3-2 with just under 20 minutes remaining in the first half, Stevens rattled off five unanswered goals to take a 7-3 lead with 15:58 left. Mather totaled a goal and two assists in the run. After that, Dickinson found the back of the cage three consecutive times in a six-minute stretch to cut the deficit to one at 7-6. Muir, Crellin and Jennings accounted for the scoring. The Ducks closed out the period by scoring three of the last five goals to head into the intermission with a 10-8 advantage.
Stevens began the latter half by reaching the scoreboard twice on goals by Wasserman and Buonacuore to grab a 12-9 lead. Sophomore midfielder/attacker Lexie Kob (Collegeville, Pa.) had the in-between goal for Dickinson at the 26:35 mark. Three minutes later, the Red Devils tallied another pair of scores to get within a goal yet again at 12-11. Ko scored off a feed from Jennings, while Crellin found the back of the cage on an unassisted effort.
Shortly thereafter, the Ducks exploded for four of the next five goals to take a 16-12 advantage. Smith scored the first and last goal of the burst. Lalli and Cox also had scores off a dish from Buonacuore. But, Dickinson did not go away as it posted two goals in a 59-second span to close within two (16-14). Freshman midfielder Sara Braniecki (Ocean City, Md.) notched an unassisted tally, while Larson scored on a pass from Jennings.
Stevens had an answer by scoring six of the final eight goals in the game over the last 11:43 to secure the title. Wasserman registered four goals and an assist, while Cox dished out two assists in the streak.
The Ducks held a 44-41 advantage in shots, while the Red Devils owned a 19-18 edge in ground balls and a 21-18 margin in draw controls. In clears, Stevens was a flawless 17-for-17. As for Dickinson, it converted 68.2 percent (15-for-22) of its clearing attempts.
This was the fourth ECAC title of the year for the Ducks. The other teams were women's soccer as well as men's and women's basketball. Today's game was also the last for the 2008 Stevens women's lacrosse team. It will return to action in the spring of 2009.
