Women's Lacrosse Captures NEWLA Title, Advances to NCAAs

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State College women's lacrosse team captured their third straight New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance (NEWLA) Tournament championship and fifth overall as the Bears downed Castleton State College, 21-9, this afternoon in Bridgewater.

Bridgewater (15-4) will advance to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament for only the second time in program history and first since 2003.  NCAA Tournament pairings will be announced on Sunday night at 10 PM, and first round play begins on Wednesday, May 12th.  Castleton (13-6) will await word on a possible ECAC Tournament bid.  

Senior midfielder Shannon Manning (Framingham, MA), the NEWLA Offensive Player of the Year, paced the host Bears with a game-high seven goals to go along with six draw controls.  Senior attack Katie DeMaio (Port Jefferson Station, NY) and junior attack Jenny Jones (Framingham, MA) each added four goals and an assist.

The game was close early with Bridgewater holding a 6-5 advantage with just over nine minutes remaining in the first half.  From that point on, the Bears dominated play as they held the Spartans to just one goal over the next 38 minutes.  Bridgewater outscored Castleton 14-1 and posted separate runs of six straight goals and eight consecutive goals over that period.

Senior goaltender Meghan Griffin (Billerica, MA) was outstanding between the pipes for the Bears as she made 12 saves.  Griffin, the NEWLA Goalkeeper of the Year, set the program record for wins with her 15th of the year.  She also increased her season save total to 185 as she is only seven saves shy of the school mark of 192 set by Karen Rapchuk in 1986.

Junior defenders Erin Quimby (Chelmsford, MA) and Kasey Sheehan (Bridgewater, MA) anchored a stong defensive unit in front of Griffin.  Quimby, the NEWLA Defensive Player of the Year, caused a pair of turnovers and also tallied a goal and an assist.  Sheehan forced three turnovers and notched three ground balls.

Bridgewater held a 33-25 shot advantage for the game and converted on 6 of 10 free position attempts, while Castleton was just 2-for-8.  The Spartans did have a 17-14 edge in draws controlled.

Sophomore midfielder Angelica Mazzola (Centerport, NY) potted three goals for Castleton, while Nicole Adams (Rutland, VT) dished out a game-high four assists.  Freshman netminder Lily Derbyshire (Little Compton, RI) turned aside seven shots in goal for the Spartans.

Notes: The Bears will head into the NCAA Division III Tournament on an 11-game winning streak.  Their last loss was a 17-14 defeat at Castleton on April 3rd....Bridgewater's 15 victories ties the program record for wins in a season originally set in 2008....With her seven-goal performance Manning increased her single-season school scoring record to 120 points....Jones added on to her BSC goal-scoring mark as she now has 79 goals on the season.