WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Junior Erin Marshall (Woburn, Mass.) notched a game-high six points, but the 20th-ranked and sixth-seeded Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team suffered a 13-9 defeat to the fifth-ranked and third-seeded University of New Haven in a Northeast-10 Championship quarterfinal matchup at Kayo Field on Wednesday evening.
The Hawks, who were making their third straight appearance in the NE-10 Championship, end their season at 8-8, while the Chargers, who ended Saint Anselm's season in the semifinal round a year ago, better their record to 15-2. New Haven advances to take on fourth-ranked and second-seeded Le Moyne College at Adelphi University's Motamed Field – site of the semifinal and championship rounds.
Marshall scored five goals and handed out an assist to come a goal and a point shy of matching career highs in each category. Senior Marissa Daly (Marshfield, Mass.) also recorded multiple points with a trio of goals.
New Haven jumped out to a 2-0 lead early on as Courtney Ackland scored just 50 seconds in and then Maya Szymanski followed 27 seconds after that. The Hawks tied it up, however, when Marshall set up Daly's first goal and then scored her first at the 24:29 mark.
Ackland scored again over a minute later and Corinne Fisher followed to open up a 4-2 advantage with 22:36 remaining in the opening half. The Hawks again tied the game just over 10 minutes later as Daly sliced the deficit in half and Marshall matched her off an assist from junior Bebe Butts (Windham, Maine) at 12:31.
Kathryn Campbell's free-position strike at 9:19 and Ackland's third of the game exactly three minutes later again staked New Haven to a two-goal lead before Marshall scored again to pull the Hawks within 6-5 at the 4:38 mark. Campbell buried another free-position try 1:37 before the half and the Chargers brought a 7-5 lead into the break.
Daly opened the second-half scoring with a huge goal nearly two minutes in that made it a one-goal game and then Marshall answered a Caitlin O'Brien tally to keep the Hawks within one at 8-7 at 22:05.
The turning point in the game followed as the Hawks missed a free-position shot, maintained possession, but then turned the ball over before O'Brien scored at the other end to set off a three-goal barrage that opened New Haven's lead to 11-7 with 15:41 remaining.
Goals from senior Sarah Doherty (Franklin, Mass.) and Marshall were answered by Fisher and Szymanski to maintain the four-goal cushion and pick up the win.
Senior goalkeeper Allee Ramzi (Cumberland, R.I.) made a number of big stops on the night and finished with 11 saves, while Alyssa Gianotti turned away five shots for New Haven.
New Haven outshot Saint Anselm, 31-17, including 17-7 in the second half and also owned a 17-6 draw control advantage. The Hawks were 1-for-2 on free-position attempts, while the Chargers went 2-for-4.
This marks the final career game for seniors Daly, Doherty, Ramzi, Kaitlyn Stazinski (Pembroke, Mass.) and Molly McGaffigan (Groton, Mass.). Daly closed her career with 221 goals and 270 points, which are both program records.
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