Brookville, N.Y. - On Thursday, the No. 5/5 and top-seeded LIU Post women's lacrosse team breezed to an 18-2 victory over fourth-seeded Roberts Wesleyan College in an East Coast Conference Championship semifinal at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium.
The win sends the Pioneers (14-2) to their fourth-consecutive ECC Championship final on Saturday (May 6) at noon in Brookville. The green and gold will square off with third-seeded Mercy College, which dispatched No. 2 seed New York Institute of Technology by a 9-7 score in the second semifinal, on ESPN3.
The Pioneers started strong out of the gate, reeling off an overwhelming 11-0 run to open the contest. Freshman midfielder Alyssa Mallery (Wantagh, N.Y.) tallied a team-high three goals in the burst. Senior attacker Connor Bird (Syosset, N.Y.), red-shirt senior attacker Alexis Newman (Medford Lakes, N.J.) and sophomore midfielder Ryan McKinney (Downingtown, Pa.) had two goals apiece.
In the second half, LIU Post, which led 12-1 at the break, kept their foot to the gas pedal. Newman scored back-to-back free-position goals in the opening 5:06 of the period to widen the gap to 14-1 at the 24:34 mark.
Newman finished with a game-high five goals in the win. Mallery registered three goals and an assist for four points. She also won four draw controls and two ground balls. McKinney collected three goals, while Bird had three points (2 G, 1 A) and four draws. Freshman attacker Angela Deren (Greenlawn, N.Y.) dished out three assists, to go along with four ground balls, two draws and two caused turnovers.
Between the pipes, junior goaltender Olivia Kirk (Farmingdale, N.Y.) and freshman cageminder Jill Hummel (Patchogue, N.Y.) combined to make seven saves for the Pioneers. Senior goalie Shannon Knapp (Lafayette, N.Y.) totaled seven saves for the Redhawks (7-11).
For the contest, LIU Post owned a commanding 29-17 advantage in shots, a 19-15 edge in ground balls and a 14-8 differential in draw controls. The Pioneers were also an impressive 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) on clears and 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) on free-position attempts.
In their regular-season contest, the Pioneers defeated Mercy by a 16-11 final on Apr. 22 in Dobbs Ferry. McKinney registered a game-high-tying eight points (7 G, 1 A) in the victory.
Provided by the LIU Post Sports Information Department.
