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Saturday, May 17, 2008

Kian and her CW Post Lacrosse Team ...

My niece and her teammates from CW Post of Long Island are attempting to win their second consecutive NCAA Div. II Women's Lacrosse Championship. Here is a round-up of the national semifinal win:

HOUSTON (May 15, 2008) – The C.W. Post women’s lacrosse team advanced to the NCAA Championship title game for the second straight year with a 9-4 win over Adelphi University in the semifinals Thursday afternoon at Memorial Park.

The Pioneers improve to 17-1 overall and will play West Chester University on Saturday, May 17 at 1 p.m. The win stops a 16-game win streak for the Panthers as they end their season with a 16-1 overall record.

C.W. Post and Adelphi last met in postseason play in 2006 in the NCAA semifinals in Chicago, where the Panthers edged out a 9-8 win.

Junior attacker Jaclyn Napoli (West Islip, N.Y.) led the Pioneers offensively with four goals while senior goalkeeper Lauren Scipione (East Meadow, N.Y.) made a season-high 15 saves in goal to preserve the win.

The Panthers scored first when Michelle Ceraso scored on a shot from the right side at 23:54.

The Pioneers answered back with two goals, the first from Napoli at 14:14 on a shot from the left post on a cross pass from junior attacker Katie Hogan (Farmingdale, N.Y.). The second came from senior attacker Jenna Miller (Silver Spring, Md.) at 11:23 on a 3-yard shot from junior midfielder Samantha Lyons (Farmingdale, N.Y.) to go ahead, 2-1.

Adelphi tied the game when Kaitlyn Carter shot one in from the right side to tie the game at 10:57.

Napoli scored her second goal of the game on a sling shot from the left post on a pass from Miller at 9:21. The Panthers again answered back when Emily Simpson scored from the right perimeter with an assist from Rachel Ray at 6:32.

The teams played to a 3-3 draw until the Pioneers added two more goals from Napoli and sophomore midfielder Brianne Jackolski (Shirley, N.Y.) to give themselves a cushioned lead with 5:12 left in the half.

In the second half, C.W. Post scored three continuous goals from Hogan, Napoli and senior midfielder Elaine Williams (East Islip, N.Y.) to boost its lead in the game to 8-3 with 20:19 remaining in regulation.

Adelphi score its final goal of the game when Carter scored from the left side with 7:26 left to play.

Sophomore midfielder Staci Passafiume (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) scored the game’s final goal at 3:35 with an 8-foot shot from Hogan.

C.W. Post outshot Adelphi, 30-25, and held a 17-15 ground ball advantage.

Passafiume and Hogan each tallied two assists while five Pioneers each scored single goals.

Carter had two goals while Ceraso and Simpson each had one for Adelphi. Caitlin Fitzpatrick made 10 stops in goal, including seven in the second half for the Panthers.

The Pioneers advanced to the title game in 2007 after a win over Stonehill College and went on to defeat West Chester, 15-7, to claim their second national in program history.

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Update: CW Post lost to West Chester in the Finals:

HOUSTON, Texas – Four years of frustration and watching somebody else take home the gold trophy are over for West Chester’s women’s lacrosse team.

For the second time in the last seven years, West Chester has claimed the NCAA Division II Women’s Lacrosse championship with a convincing 13-12 victory over C.W. Post at Memorial Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Rams (20-1) ended four straight years of a “second-best” title with their first win over the Pioneers (17-2) in the NCAA Tournament. West Chester set a new school record for wins in a single season in the process.

For senior Steph Kienle, it was especially pleasing to end her illustrious career in such a fitting manner. The WCU graduate posted a hat trick and one assist, finishing the 2008 season with an NCAA-record 143 points, breaking her own single-season record set a year ago.

C.W. Post held West Chester scoreless over the final 22 minutes of the contest after the Rams had taken a 13-9 advantage. However, the Pioneers could get just three more shots past goalkeeper Mary Beth Green, the last with two seconds remaining in the game, as their comeback bid fell short.

The first half was a struggle for control most of the 20 minutes as six lead changes highlighted a tightly contested match. Jackie Baker scored all four of her goals in the first half to help stake the Golden Rams to a 10-8 lead at the break. She finished with five points.

Freshman Claire Grimwood saved her grandest performance for the national television audience watching on CBS College Television’s live broadcast. She scored three goals and posted a game-high seven points in the win.

West Chester finishes the 2008 campaign with an NCAA record 424 goals, but were shutout over the final 22 minutes of the game as C.W. Post mounted a furious comeback.

Brianne Jackolski scored with 11 minutes left to draw the Pioneers within three, 13-10. Taryn Crimi then scored at the 3:28 mark, followed by Mallory Poole with just two ticks left on the clock.

After the ensuing faceoff, it was time to celebrate for one of the most successful Division II women’s lacrosse programs in the country since the turn of the century. West Chester has reached the national championship game in each of the last five years and seven years overall since 2001.

The Golden Rams last won the national title in 2002 with a win over Stonehill. For head coach Ginny Martino, it is her second national championship at West Chester.

Green made nine saves in the win. Her counterpart, Lauren Scipione made 10.

Katie Hogan led C.W. Post in scoring with three goals and one assist.