Morrisville State, Keuka advance to NAC West Women's Lacrosse Championship Final

Top seeded Morrisville State College and second seed Keuka College each posted victories in the semi-final round to advance to the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) West Division Women's Lacrosse Championship Final, Sunday, April 29 in Morrisville.



Morrisville State (12-4, 9-0 NAC West) advanced with a 19-10 decision over fourth seed Medaille College (8-8, 6-3 NAC West) earlier in the day.



Shelby Wood (Duanesburg, N.Y.) led the Mustangs with a team best seven goals, adding an assist, while teammates Erin Rundle (Marathon, N.Y.) and Hillary Hartnett (Fairport, N.Y.) each tallied three. Jessica Young (Clifton Park, N.Y.) and Lesa Ward (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) added two scores apiece while Alison Falkenburgh (Bayport, N.Y.) tallied a goal and assisted another, with Jamie Anderson (Harpursville, N.Y.) rounding out scoring for Morrisville State with a goal.



Danielle Puzio (Holbrook, N.Y.) recorded the win in net, turning away 13, including nine in the first half.



Joey Ruderman (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) led the Medaille efforts with four goals and an assist, as Heather Boyzuck (Mexico, N.Y.) contributed three tallies. Emily Brophy (Rochester, N.Y.) and Lauren Dunkle (Blasdell, N.Y.) rounded out Maverick scoring with two and one goals, respectively.



Christina Balestracci (Newfane, N.Y.) posted the loss in net, turning away 13, nine in the second half.



Morrisville State led 10-6 at the half, and opened the second with a 6-1 run to increase the lead to nine, before adding three additional tallies in the final six minutes to claim the 19-10 win.



The Mustangs held the 38-34 advantage in shots on the day, and won the ground ball battle 48-30 over Medaille, but the Mavericks controlled the draw, winning 18 to Morrisville State's 13.



In the second semi-final of the day, Keuka (11-2, 8-1 NAC West) needed the overtime period to get by third seed Cazenovia (9-8, 7-3 NAC West), 18-15.



Christy Foster (Canton, N.Y.) led the Wildcat efforts with nine goals, as Melissa Rivera (Slate Hill, N.Y.) and Danielle Clark (Camillus, N.Y.) each added two.



Christina Marra (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) recorded the loss for Cazenovia, making 11 stops, including two in the overtime period.



Keuka was led by Jennifer Burt (Penn Yan, N.Y.) who found the back of the net eight times, while teammates Maggie Bonafede (Churchville, N.Y.) added four scores and Kaycee Macguire (Potsdam, N.Y.) three tallies to round out top scoring for the Storm.



Molly Hogan (Horseheads, N.Y.) registered nine saves between the pipes for the win.



With a 5-4 lead at the break, Cazenovia added a quick tally early in the second for the two goal advantage, but Keuka turned the tables to post five straight scores over a five minute span, claiming the 9-6 lead with 21:42 remaining on the clock.



The high scoring second half proved to be a game of runs, as the Storm responded to two Cazenovia scores with another five goal series, claiming a 14-8 advantage with 10 minutes showing on the clock.



Foster then posted six straight tallies for Cazenovia, knotting the game at 14 with 5:11 to go, and with 2:05 remaining, Daejah Werntz (Syracuse, N.Y.) fired the go ahead score for the Wildcats into the back of the net, but Burt responded 18 seconds later with a free position tally to send the game into the overtime period.



Keuka dominated the overtime frame, netting three tallies within a minute, including the eventual game winner by Kay Kostuk.



Keuka and Morrisville State meet for the second time this season, where the Mustangs posted the 13-10 upset victory to clinch the regular season title. This is also a rematch of last year's NAC West Division Championship Tournament Title game.



The contest is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start on Drake Field in Morrisville.



Beginning with the 2010 season, the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has partnered with the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) in the sports of baseball, women's lacrosse, and men's and women's tennis. The NEAC will compete as associate members of the NAC in women's lacrosse and men's tennis, while the NAC will compete as associate members of the NEAC in baseball and women's tennis. Members from each conference will be divided into an East and West Division for each sport, with each division holding a championship and the two divisional champions then facing off to determine the conference champion. The conference winner for each sport will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships. For baseball and women's lacrosse, this partnership will end following the 2012 season.