WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.- The Monmouth University women's lacrosse team used an 8-2 first half scoring spree to defeat rival Mount St. Mary's 10- 4 and clinch the third seed in the Northeast Conference Tournament on Sunday at Kessler Field. The Hawks finish the regular season 13-4 and 7-1 in the league, while Mount is 9-8 and 5-3 in the league.
The Hawks scored the first goal of the contest when Rachel Feirstein (St. James, N.Y./Smithtown East) split two Mount defenders from six meters out and scored at the 24:49 mark of the first half. Mount goalie Jane Karger kept the score 1-0 with a big save one minute later, but the Hawks got on the board again when Megan Brennan (King of Prussia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) scooped up a ground ball near midfield and took it the distance for the score with 23:15 showing on the clock.
Feirstein scored two goals in a row for the Blue and White, the first off a great one-on-one move with 18:03 showing and the second off a free position with 14:34 left in the first half. The Mountaineers scored their first goal with 12:16 left in the first half when Ashley Johnson scored on a one timer off an assist from Kathleen Rossetti.
Monmouth freshman Carissa Franzi (Fairfield, N.J./West Essex) scored consecutive free position goals, the first at 11:48 and the second at 10:07, to give MU a 6-1 lead. Ashley Waldman (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) then fed Feirstein for a goal at 9:07, but Mount countered when Katelyn Catanese spun around a defender and shot high for the score with 7:07 showing. Feirstein ended the first half with her fifth goal if the first 30 minutes on a free position from the right arc with 4:08 left.
MU scored the second half's first goal 31 seconds in when Jessica Picciuto (North Caldwell, N.J./West Essex) cut to the cage and scored to make it 9-2 in favor of MU.
The Mount countered when Catanese scored on a rebound off of Kathleen Rossetti's missed shot with 16:35 left in the game. Renae Hill (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) scored off an assist from Megan Nutter (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) with 14:00 left. The final tally of the afternoon came when Mount's Johnson split the Monmouth defense and finished with a shovel shot with 7:45 left.
Feirstein finished with a career-high five goals, while Franzi scored two for the Hawks. Monmouth outshot the Mount 27-22, and led in draw controls 11-5, including an 8-3 first half advantage. Mount committed 30 fouls in the contest, compared to 15 for MU.
Waldman and Feirstein each added three groundballs , while Nutter had two. Franzi added three draw controls, while Feirstein and Nutter each logged a pair of caused turnovers. Monica Johnson (Radnor, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) had a stellar day in goal, making 12 saves.
Before the game, the Hawks honored their six seniors in a Senior Day Celebration. Monmouth's Colleen Burg (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee), Brittany Scott (Freehold, N.J./Freehold Township), Jackie Trainer (Upper Holland, Pa./Council Rock South), Nutter, Picciuto and Waldman were all honored in the pregame ceremony.
Monmouth clinches the third seed in the upcoming NEC tournament and will face second seeded Sacred Heart at Quinnipiac on Friday, April 25.
