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Massachusetts Wins Third Straight A-10 Women's Lacrosse Championship
May 1, 2011
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Top-seeded Massachusetts (16-2) used a pair of 6-0 runs in each half Sunday afternoon to capture its third straight Atlantic 10 Women's Lacrosse Championship with a 16-12 victory over second-seeded Richmond (10-9) at Geasey Field on the campus of Temple University. The league title is the fourth for UMass in school history, the second most in the A-10. Jesse O'Donnell led all players on Sunday with five points on five goals en route to being named the championship's Most Outstanding Player. The junior attacker finished the tournament with nine points on eight goals and one assist. Massachusetts set the championship record for goals and shots over the two-day tournament posting 32 and 74, respectively. The 32 goals eclipsed the previous record of 30 set by the Temple Owls in 2002, while Richmond held the previous record for shots with 71 also set back in 2002. The 16 goals also tied the tournament record for goals in a game performed twice before by UMass (2011 - semifinals) and Temple (2002 - semifinals). Katie Ferris and Tanner Guarino each added three goals for the Minutewomen, while 2011 A-10 Offensive Player of the Year Jackie Lyons scored two goals. The Spiders were led by Gabi Wiegand and Danielle Schaevitz, who scored three goals apiece. Mary Flowers, the A-10 Midfielder of the Year, and Julianne Nicola each tallied three assists. UMass used a pair of quick strikes in the first half to build an early 4-1 lead with just over 18 minutes remaining but the Spiders came roaring back with a pair of goals by Wiegand to cut the deficit to 4-3 midway through the first half. O'Donnell scored the game's first two goals in a span of 14 seconds in the third minute of action to give the Minutewomen an early 2-0 lead. Schaevitz got Richmond on the scoreboard in the fifth minute finding the back of the net off an assist from Flowers. Following a media timeout, UMass built its lead to 4-1 as Guarino and O'Donnell scored 10 seconds apart in the 12th minute of play. But two goals by Wiegand in the 13th minute and 15th minute drew the Spiders within one of the lead. The Minutewomen broke the game open late in the first half with a 6-0 run to increase their lead to 10-3. Lyons led the charge with a pair of goals, while O'Donnell added her fourth of the game to begin the run. Haley Smith, Ferris and Guarino all found the back of the net for UMass during that stretch. Richmond snapped the scoring run for the Minutewomen with a goal at the 6:31 mark as Tara Coyle scored off an assist from Flowers to cut the UMass advantage to 10-4. The Spiders scored the first two goals to start the second half cutting the deficit to 10-6. Hayley Ross opened the scoring with a goal in the 33rd minute followed 20 seconds later by Wiegand's third tally of the afternoon. UMass responded with another 6-0 run to take their largest lead of the afternoon at 16-6 with just over 15 minutes remaining in regulation. Ferris scored twice sandwiched in between goals by O'Donnell, Nina Sarcona, Guarino and Danielle Pelletier. Richmond closed out the game on 6-0 run to cut the lead to 16-12, but it would be as close as the Spiders would get. Mary Flowers started the run with a goal in the 48th minute. After a timeout, Richmond tallied five more goals in just over five minutes and 30 seconds led by Schaevitz, who added a pair. Katie Florence made seven saves in goal for the Minutewomen, while Victoria Roebuck recorded 13 saves for the Spiders. Massachusetts will now face the winner of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in a play-in game to gain an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. The play-in game will be played on the campus of the University of Massachusetts on either Saturday, May 8 or Sunday, May 9 at a time yet to be announced. 2011 Atlantic 10 Women's Lacrosse All-Tournament Team Most Outstanding Player --www.atlantic10.com--
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