Stevens Earns Spot in E8 Title Game with 11-9 Win over Naz
ITHACA, N.Y. (May 6, 2017) – The Stevens Institute of Technology women's lacrosse team booked a spot in the Empire 8 Championship Game of the first time since 2011 with an 11-9 victory over Nazareth College in the E8 semifinals on Saturday.
The matchup with Naz featured four ties and five lead changes as the Ducks and Golden Flyers traded blows in the matchup of the league's 2-3 seeds. Five Stevens players –
Kathleen Kalbian,
Hannah Condren,
Emily Shanklin,
Kyra Bednarski and
Laura Roberts – finished with two goals in the game. Bednarski also had two assists to lead the team with four points.
The Duck stat line was balanced all around: Kalbain,
Regan Littell and
Victoria Alvarez combined for the team lead with two caused turnovers apiece and Kalbain and Shanklin corralled three draw controls each. Alvarez scooped four ground balls to lead the team in that column.
"A great team win," head coach
Celine Cunningham said. "Everyone came up big at different points in the game. We have lots of threats on attack which is really hard to defend. I'm just so proud of this group and so happy they get to experience the championship game."
The first 30 minutes were full of back-and-forth drama, but the Ducks took a 6-5 lead into the locker room with a marker by Bednarski at 4:03.
Just a minute into the second half Naz tied it for the fourth time on a score by Jamie Martin. She finished with four goals in the game to lead all players.
30 seconds later,
Cami Santor set up Roberts for the go-ahead goal to make the score 6-7. Roberts scored again with help from
Mariel Haubrich to bump the lead up to two.
The teams traded goals after that, until Shanklin scored two-straight to make the score 11-8. Naz scored once more, but the Ducks held the Flyers scoreless over the final 12:33 to earn the win.
Stephanie Schnelzer made seven saves for Stevens to earn the W between the pipes.
The Ducks are now 13-4 overall. Naz ends the year with a 10-7 mark.
Up Next: The Ducks will face off against fourth-seeded Saint John Fisher College for the Empire 8 Championship on Sunday at noon in Ithaca. The Cardinals upset the top-seeded Bombers 17-10 in the other semifinal on Saturday.
Stevens will be looking for its first Empire 8 Championship since winning back-to-back crowns in 2010 and 2011. Fisher has won the last five Empire 8 titles.