SAINTS EARN PLAYOFF BERTH WITH

15-12 VICTORY OVER VASSAR

Apr. 19: The ringing of the St. Lawrence Liberty Bell hasn’t sounded as sweet as it did to the St. Lawrence women’s lacrosse team on Saturday afternoon, as the Saints clinched their first Liberty League playoff spot since 2005 after playing catch-up from the first half and recording an astounding 8-0 run to beat conference opponent Vassar College 15-12 on a sunny North Country Field in the home team’s final regular season game of their 2008 campaign.

For the Class of 2008, which includes Liz Skinner (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), Stephanie Walter (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham), Alanna Waters (Darien, CT/Taft) and Michaela Wipfler (Portland, ME/Deering), it was their last game on their home turf, but that didn’t stop them from contributing to the team’s winning efforts, as the seniors contributed four points and four ground balls to the victory.

St. Lawrence improves to 11-4 overall and 5-3 in the Liberty League, while Vassar falls to 9-3 overall and 4-3 in the conference.

Junior Amanda Forbes ( Glens Falls, NY/ Glens Falls) continued to be an important contributor to St. Lawrence, as she tallied a team-high four goals. Waters had three goals, including the game-winner, and an assist for four points in the contest, while junior Brittany Misercola ( Watertown, NY/ Watertown) had her best game of her collegiate career, scoring two goals and tallying two assists.

Also scoring for the Saints was first-year Kelsey Redpath (Norwich, VT/Hanover) who had two goals, and sophomores Julie Wooters (New Canaan, CT/New Canaan), Mary Jane Sweetland (Hopewell, NJ/Stuart Country Day) and Lexi Wisnowski (Middlebury, VT/Middlebury Union), as well as rookie Kim Morse (Peaks Island, ME/Yarmouth Academy) each tallied one. Wooters, Morse, and first-year Kaitlyn Fahsel ( Watertown, NY/South Jefferson) each recorded an assist.

Despite an early goal from Wooters, Vassar quickly poured on the pressure early on in the opening half and scored three unanswered goals to give them a 3-1 edge with 23:25 on the scoreboard. St. Lawrence was able to tie the Brewers after Forbes tallied two and Redpath had one with a Vassar goal in between to make the score 4-4 with 18:32 remaining.

The visiting team responded with two of their own goals to grab a two point lead with just under eight minutes to go, but Forbes slid another one past Vassar’s goalie Ariel Nelson to get back within a goal. A St. Lawrence foul sent Vassar to the eight, where they were able to slip one past Saints’ first-year goalie Anna Marchand (Concord, MA/Middlesex) to give Vassar a 7-5 lead that they maintained throughout the remainder of the half.

The Brewer duo of Christine Castellan and Allie Morgan led Vassar’s offense in the first period, with Castellan scoring the visitor’s first five goals, with Morgan closing out the half with two to give Vassar a 7-5 advantage at halftime.

Despite the halftime deficit, the Saints were not at all worn down as they got back onto the field for the second half. Vassar’s Sarah Warner scored another goal to give Vassar their biggest lead of the half with a score of 8-5 while Sweetland followed suit and scored to get back within two. Castellan was able to find a way for the ball to make it to the back of the net from a free-position shot to score Vassar’s ninth goal, pushing the visiting team back into a three-goal lead with a score of 9-6 with 22:41 left.

But a calm St. Lawrence squad took control of the contest from that point forward and the momentum of the game changed as Morse tallied a goal that sparked a stunning 8-0 run that bewildered the Brewers, who were unable to find any way to stop the Saints. The Scarlet and Brown kept Vassar scoreless for nearly 16 minutes until they had two free-position shot opportunities that they cashed in on. Each team saw another goal scored before the Saints were able to enjoy their 15-12 win over the Brewers.

“We finally relaxed and really stopped making the errors that cost us the lead in the first half,” said Saints’ head coach Jodi Canfield. “We were in charge of our own destiny, and when we finally played the way were capable of playing, we took control of the game.”

Canfield said some adjustments were made in order to make it a more successful second half for St. Lawrence. “We started moving the ball around the eight-meter and had two key plays that created a lot more drives to goal. We were able to see the gaps and find open people, while also making better decisions on shots to take.”

“This team has worked so hard this year, and we knew coming into this game we needed this win in order to go to Liberty Leagues, and we rose to that challenge,” she added.

St. Lawrence enjoyed a 33-23 advantage in shots, while picking up 15 ground balls, compared to the Brewer’s nine. The teams were nearly even in draw control winds, while Vassar honed in on its expertise in free position shots, making five of their eight.

Nelson tallied ten saves, while Marchand recorded five.

St. Lawrence will face the Liberty League regular season champion on Friday, May 2, with the site and time yet to be determined.