April 24, 2009

PHILADELPHIA- Top-seeded Massachusetts (10-7) knocked off George Washington and #3 Saint Joseph's (10-7) defeated Richmond in semi-final games on Friday afternoon to advance to the 2009 Atlantic 10 Women's Lacrosse Championship game on Sunday afternoon at Temple's Geasey Field. The game begins at 1 p.m. This is UMass' third trip to the Championship game, while Saint Joe's is making its first appearance.

In the first semifinal, The Minutewomen scored two late goals to hold off the upset-minded Colonials, 12-9. GW tied the game at five early in the second half but UMass went on a five goal run to take a 10-5 lead at 15:46. GW battled back to get within one goal (10-9) with under five minutes to play. Danielle Pelletier and Jackie Lyons rattled off back-to-back goals in the final three and half minutes to ensure UMass' second straight trip to the A-10 Championship.

Holly Drown led UMass with three goals and one assist, while Lyons had two goals and three helpers. Audrey Joy was the top scorer for the Colonials (5-12) with three goals.

Both goalies had outstanding days, as GW's Liz Hoffman stopped 11 shots and UMass' Katie Florence had 11 saves.

Saint Joseph's Jen Peters netted the game-winning goal as time was expiring to give the Hawks an 11-10 victory over Richmond (6-12) in the second semi-final game. Richmond used a three goal run to take a 10-5 lead with 13:19 remaining but the Hawks refused to quit. Jessica Westlake's goal with 11:24 remaining kicked off a five goal run that tied the game at 10 with just under five minutes to play. The teams battled for possession for the remainder of the half and it seemed that the game was going into overtime. Saint Joseph's was able to gain possession with two minutes left and meticulously passed the ball around the 12 meter, holding for the last shot. As the clock wound down, Abby Renninger found a cutting Peters, to give SJU its first-ever trip to the Championship game.

Jenna Martino was unstoppable for the Hawks, netting five goals and dishing one assist. Mandy Friend was just as dominant for the Spiders, notching five tallies and one helper.

Suzy Herlihy stopped 13 shots in goal for Saint Joseph's, while UR's Erica Marrocco had eight.