How It HappenedLebanon Valley's bid to win its third consecutive ECAC Mid-Atlantic Championship was stopped by top-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology in a 9-7 final.
Stevens' 5-0 run to open the second half proved insurmountable after the two teams were tied 3-3 at the break. The Dutchmen (12-7) tried to inject life back into the game with a four-goal streak in response to cut the Ducks' lead to one, but the visitors were held scoreless over the final 10:07.
Anna Pagels ended her standout career with a hat trick to lead LVC's offense, including a pair of first-half goals to go with
Sam Boyce's opening strike. The Ducks (14-5) scored the final two goals of the first half and the first five of the second to lead 8-3, but an LVC timeout settled things and
Tori Kuntz started the scoring off at the 18:40 mark.
That opened the door for Pagels,
Nikki Lloyd, and
Emma Jones to score over the next eight minutes, and suddenly Stevens' lead was down to 8-7 with 10:07 to go. Ducks' goalie Stephanie Schnelzer, however, made two key saves and Erika Wilcox scored an insurance goal at the other end, and the Dutchmen never took another shot.
Notables- LVC was making its third straight ECAC Mid-Atlantic final appearance, with wins in 2013 and 2014. It was their first meeting with Stevens.
- Stevens led 21-16 on shots. Draw controls were an even 9-9, with LVC led by
Emily Moatz (3) and
Tori Kuntz (2).
- Shelby Morris made five saves to break LVC's single-season record with 148. Her .474 save percentage and 8.37 goals-against average are also new LVC records as she turned in arguably the finest season ever by a Dutchman goalie.-
Sam Boyce had a goal and an assist to finish her season with a team-best 58 scores and 73 points.
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Tori Kuntz extended her scoring streak to 21 games dating back to the 2014 season. The junior finished a superb season with 40 goals (second on the team) and 35 draw controls.
- Erika Wilcox led the Ducks with three goals and an assist along with a game-high four draw controls.
Super SeniorsWin or lose, it was the final career game for LVC's senior class of
Bailey Benz '15,
Morgan Heller '15,
Anna Pagels '15, and
Jenny Simensky '15. The quartet helped put a young LVC lacrosse program on the map with four postseason trips, three ECAC final appearances, and two championships.
Individually, Benz graduates as LVC's career leader in assists (160), ground balls (191), caused turnovers (144), and starts (73). She is second in program history with 282 points and fourth with 122 goals. Heller started 71 career games (third all-time) on defense and is fifth in LVC history with 125 ground balls to go with 54 career CTs. Pagels is among LVC's greats in a number of categories with 108 goals (5th), 140 points (5th), 168 ground balls (2nd), and 202 draw controls (2nd). Simensky played more games than anyone in LVC history (75) to score 60 goals and 42 assists, with her assists total ranking fourth and her 101 points seventh at LVC.