Hoboken, N.J. – The top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology women's lacrosse team captured its fifth consecutive Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom title with a dominant 25-8 victory over DeSales on a record-setting Saturday.
Maddie Hogan was named MAC Freedom Tournament MVP after totaling nine goals and four assists across the two tournament games.
HOW IT HAPPENED
One week after scoring five first-half goals in a 15-4 Senior Day win, Stevens (15-4) came out firing, erupting for 12 goals in the opening quarter.
Alison Murray set a new season-high in goals within the first 9:02 of the contest as the Ducks overwhelmed DeSales early.
Murray and
Adeline Obitz struck within the opening two minutes before
Stefanie Sellitto made it 3-0. After the Bulldogs got on the board, Murray answered immediately with her second goal to push the lead to 4-1. Following a Hogan tally, Murray completed her hat trick and later added a fourth, continuing to respond to every DeSales push.
Alina Friz added her first goal to make it 8-2 less than 10 minutes into the game, and Stevens closed the quarter in emphatic fashion. Hogan,
Abby O'Brien, and two more goals from Friz capped the 12-goal explosion.
DeSales opened the second quarter with three of the first four goals (with Friz scoring for Stevens), but the Ducks responded with six straight goals to seize full control and initiate the running clock before halftime. Hogan sparked the run with two goals 80 seconds apart, O'Brien followed to trigger the running clock, and Friz bookended a pair of goals around another from Sellitto as Stevens took a commanding 19-6 lead into the break.
The Ducks continued their surge into the third quarter, extending the unanswered run as Maillie Colin, O'Brien, Obitz, and
Colleen Ginsberg all scored. Stevens dominated possession, winning all five draw controls in the period and holding DeSales scoreless.
The Bulldogs finally snapped a scoring drought of over 25 minutes early in the fourth, but Obitz answered quickly. Sellitto later added the Ducks' 25th goal, and DeSales scored once more late to account for the final margin.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Stevens tied a Middle Atlantic Conference record for the largest margin of victory in a championship game (Freedom or Commonwealth), matching Drew's 18-1 win in 1998.
- The Ducks have now won 29 straight MAC Freedom games (regular season and postseason) dating back to the 2023 conference tournament.
- Sellitto broke her own single-game program record with 19 draw controls, adding three goals and three assists.
- Friz matched a season-high with nine points on six goals and three assists.
- Hogan finished with four goals and two assists in the championship game.
- Lauren Sullivan led the defense with two caused turnovers and two ground balls.
UP NEXT
Stevens will await its NCAA Division III Championship fate. The full bracket will be unveiled during the selection show on Monday at 10:30 a.m., with links to live stats and video available on StevensDucks.com.
