WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J.- Monmouth University's women's lacrosse team closed out the regular season with a 7-4 loss to Quinnipiac on Sunday.
After falling behind 2-0, Quinnipiac went on a 6-1 run over the first half to spoil Senior Day for Hawks Monica Johnson (Radnor, Pa./King of Prussia) and Erin Marley (Columbia, Md./Seton Keogh). The game marked the first time in 14 tries that the Hawks lost to the Bobcats, who secured the second seed in the upcoming NEC Tournament with the victory.
The Hawks got out to an early lead when Megan Brennan (King of Prussia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) forced a Bobcat turnover and then beat the keeper one-on-one with a low shot to give MU a 1-0 lead at the 28:37 mark. Just over five minutes later MU junior Shawn Evans (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead after taking a long pass from Perry DeWitt (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley). Quinnipiac tied the game up over a two minute span with goals from Nicole Fiore and Tiffany Manzi.
Brennan's unassisted marker at 12:14 regained the lead for MU but Quinnipiac score four unanswered over a period of 3:34 to take a 6-3 lead into the break. Kelly Brunea got the run starter with 3:39 when she took a quick pass and hit a wide-open left side of the MU net. Ashley Valentine scored with 2:04 to give the Bobcats the lead and then added another with five seconds left after a Marissa Caroleo goal at the 1:31 mark.
The game was close in the second half with Katie Latonick scoring an unassisted goal to push the QU lead to 7-3. Rachel Feirstein (St. James, N.Y./Smithtown East) tallied a free position goal with 10:11 left in regulation to cut the lead to three but neither team would score again.
With the loss Monmouth drops to 7-10 on the season and 5-3 in conference play. Quinnipiac set a program record for wins in a season, finished 12-3, including a 7-1 mark in league play.
Monmouth dominated the draw controls 11-2 but committed 14 turnovers compared to QU's 12. MU converted just 1-of-6 free position attempts, with Quinnipiac goalie Hannah Nelson making eight saves. Johnson finished with five saves in the contest. MU held a 17-14 advantage in shots.
Monmouth, the fourth seed in the upcoming NEC Tournament, will face defending champion Sacred Heart in Fairfield, Conn. on Friday.
