Box Score 2019 MAC Commonwealth Championship
Lebanon Valley 10, Stevenson 5

LVC Starters
Dills, Kelley, Eck, Mellendick, Ernst, Federowicz, Hathaway, Brewer, Little, Gabriel, Venezia, Franklin (GK)
 
Stevenson Starters
Foster, Murphy, Bowes, Stevens, Zaykoski, Kozlowski, DiGello, Ferrara, Tempesta, Roerty, Huff, Ferguson (GK)
 
How It Happened
OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Mark down the date. May 4, 2019. Lebanon Valley's women's lacrosse team has captured its first-ever MAC Commonwealth Title after defeating Stevenson University 10-5 on Saturday afternoon. After falling to the Mustangs in Annville back in March, the Flying Dutchmen exacted their revenge and took down Stevenson.
 
With the win, LVC (11-7) has earned an automatic bid to next week's 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament for the first time ever. Back in 1985, the women's lacrosse program was dropped at Lebanon Valley, but was restarted back in 2010. This is the Dutchmen's first-ever MAC Commonwealth Title.
 
This afternoon, one of the keys to the game ended up being LVC's hot start. At the 27:10 mark, Emily Federowicz got the visitors on the board early when she found the back of the net for her 24th goal of the season. Then, LVC controlled the ensuing draw, which was another huge part of today's contest, and Makenzie Kelley then scored just 20 seconds after Federowicz to make it a 2-0 game.
 
The quick opening run continued for LVC and again, Kelley was involved. Just 44 seconds after she made it 2-0, she scored again off another assist from Veronica Venezia to give the Dutchmen a 3-0 advantage. Stevenson finally got on the board with 20:58 left in the first, but were soon after called for a yellow card, putting LVC on an advantage where Bailey Dills scored an up-goal from Brittany Hathaway to put the Dutchmen back up by three at 4-1 with 18:27 left in the opening half.
 
Venezia then extended LVC's lead to four after she found the back of the net from Kelley at 16:55, but the Mustangs' Lindsay Seipp answered with a goal at 9:27, bringing the home team back to within three at 5-2. From there, Leah Franklin held Stevenson's offense in check and LVC went into halftime with a 5-2 advantage.
 
Early on in the second half, the Dutchmen didn't let Stevenson gain any momentum, as Venezia came up huge with a goal at 27:15, followed by Kelley's unassisted tally at 18:26 that increased the visitor's lead to 7-2. With 16:11 remaining, Stevenson's Dana Stevens scored, followed by Carly Bowes' goal with 11 minutes to go, which brought the Mustangs to within three.
 
It looked like things were destined to come down to the wire, but the Dutchmen had other plans. Kelley was a force on offense for the entire game and scored an unassisted goal with 5:22 to go, followed by Venezia's tally at 2:49 that all-but sealed the deal for the Dutchmen, but just for good measure, All-Conference defender Morgan Ernst wanted to get in on the action and she scored her first of the season with 2:05 to go. The Mustangs scored a goal late, but it wasn't nearly enough, as LVC was able to run the clock out and hold on easily for the 10-5 win.
 
Inside the Numbers
 - These two teams played in Annville back on March 30 when Stevenson edged LVC 11-7.
 - Both Venezia and Kelley reached milestones in today's game. Venezia reached 100 points on the season, while Kelley netted her 150th career goal and notched her 200th career point. Venezia is just the fourth player in program history to record at least 100 points in one season.
 - Kelley finished with four goals and one assist on five shots and went 2-for-3 from the free position.
 - Venezia tallied five points (3G, 2A) on three shots and scooped up a pair of ground balls.
  - Jen Eck, the reigning MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year, controlled five draws for LVC, picked up a ground ball, and caused a turnover.
 - Hathaway registered an assist and controlled five draws for the Dutchmen.
 - The Mustangs held the narrow edge in total shots at 21-20, but LVC led in shots on goal at 17-13.
 - LVC was 23-for-26 on clears, while Stevenson went 23-for-25.
 - The Dutchmen dominated in total draw controls at 11-6.
 
Franklin Named MVP
Thanks to an outstanding effort this afternoon, LVC's Leah Franklin was named the MVP. She allowed just five goals today and stopped eight shots while causing a team-high three turnovers.
 
How We Got Here
The Dutchmen made it back-to-back years of playing in the MAC Commonwealth Championship game. This season, they needed to defeat Messiah at home after falling to the Falcons a few days before, and that's exactly what they did. LVC took down Messiah 16-12 for its first win over the Falcons since 2014.
 
What They're Saying
Head Coach Jackie Dando, who's in her seventh season at the helm, has broken through and guided the Dutchmen to a conference championship. "The coaches are extremely proud in the 10th year of our program to win our first conference championship," said Dando. "The team has focused all year on returning to the MAC Commonwealth Championship after our first appearance last year. This season, they believed from the beginning and did all the extra work it takes to build a championship team. We embodied the word relentless on the field, focused on one game at a time, and played our hearts out! On Wednesday, our offense won the semifinal game for us, but today, our defense won the championship!
 
Hello NCAA's!
LVC has earned an automatic bid to next week's NCAA D-III Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament. The selection show is set for Sunday, May 5 at 9:30 p.m. To watch the selection show, be sure to be following @lvcathletics on Twitter for the exact link, which will be posted on Sunday afternoon. You can also click this link to find the selection show. Also, be on the lookout next week for a preview of LVC's trip to the National Championship Tournament.
 
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