Hartnett nets golden goal in NAC West Championship Final; Morrisville State defeats Keuka 11-10 in three overtimes

Senior midfielder Hillary Hartnett (Fairport, N.Y.) notched the game winning tally in the third overtime period to lift top seeded Morrisville State College (13-4, 9-0 NAC West) to an exciting 11-10 victory over second seed Keuka College in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) West Division Women's Lacrosse Championship Final, Sunday afternoon in Morrisville.



The victory, Morrisville State's 12th straight, advances the Mustangs forward to the NAC Championship Title game on Saturday, May 5 against the East Division Champion at Castleton College. The winner of the East/West matchup will receive the automatic qualifier to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship tournament.



Hartnett led the Morrisville State charge with five goals on the day, as teammate Lesa Ward (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) chipped in three. Shelby Wood (Duanesburg, N.Y.) added two, and Alison Falkenburgh (Bayport, N.Y.) one, while Jamie Anderson (Harpursville, N.Y.) rounded out team scoring with an assist.



Danielle Puzio (Holbrook, N.Y.) turned away 13, including six total in the three overtime frames, to record the win in net for the Mustangs.



Taylor Smith led the Keuka (11-3, 7-1 NAC West) efforts with three goals, while Maggie Bonafede added two and assisted two others. Olivia Hudson posted two scores and assisted one, while Kaycee Maguire rounded out top scoring for the Storm with two tallies.



Molly Hogan recorded the loss, making 11 stops in 70:19 of play as Keuka concludes the season with an 11-3 overall record.



Hartnett gave Morrisville State the early advantage, notching the first two tallies of the game in the opening three minutes. Keuka battled back to tie the game at 2 with 17:40 to go in the opening half, but Harnett struck again for the Mustangs, posting the unassisted score with just over 11 minutes showing on the clock.



Wood added another to give Morrisville State the two goal cushion, but a Storm score by Hudson with seconds remaining sent the game into the break with a 4-3 Mustang advantage.



In a back and forth second half, Morrisville State held a 9-8 lead with just over nine minutes to go on the clock, but Smith added a Keuka score to tie the contest for the sixth time of the day and followed with another with 1:30 remaining to give the Storm the 10-9 edge.



In the closing minute of the period, Jessica Young (Clifton Park, N.Y.) gathered the ball from a shot that sailed wide and found Hartnett who proceeded to roll the crease and notch the tying score, sending the game into the first overtime frame.



Keuka had plenty of chances to put the game away, but Puzio made four huge stops, including two on the crease doorstop, as the contest moved into a sudden victory overtime period.



After a scoreless second overtime frame, a costly Keuka foul gave Hartnett a free position opportunity with 1:41 to go which she buried into the back of the net to give Morrisville State the victory.



Hartnett was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.



The regular season and tournament championship titles are a first for the women's lacrosse program at Morrisville State.