Champion LHU Lacrosse NCAA-bound
LOCK HAVEN – The No. 7 Lock Haven University Lacrosse team won the 2014 PSAC Championship last Saturday and earned a number two seed and a home game in the NCAA playoffs beginning this Saturday.
The NCAA pairings were announced Sunday and the Lady Eagles earned a number two seed and a quarter-final home matchup this Saturday with South region number three seed Pfeiffer (13-4), time to be announced. The winner will advance to the national tournament May 17 and 18 in Salem, Va.
LHU earned the PSAC title with a hard-fought, 9-7 win over No. 8 Mercyhurst University. The championship was Lock Haven’s (17-2) seventh in school history and first since 2011.
It marked LHU’s second win this year over Mercyhurst (16-3) as The Haven beat the tournament’s No. 2 seed, 10-8 in overtime in early April. The victory also helped Lock Haven runs its win streak to 15 games. The Lady Eagles started the year 2-2, but haven’t lost since March 23. Leading the way for the top-seeded Lady Eagles was Kelly Hamilton (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South), who netted the hat trick. Hamilton was named the PSAC Tournament MVP as she was brilliant over the last two games. Hamilton added three key draw controls in the win to go along with a two-goal, one-assist effort in Friday’s semifinal victory.
Jessica Pandolf (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem North) added two goals and one assist in today’s win. Jenna Dingler (Turnersville, N.J./Washington Township) and Chelsea Borrino (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) each scored twice for Lock Haven. Lock Haven led 6-4 at halftime, thanks to a late first-half surge. With the game tied 3-3, Hamilton scored her first goal of the game to make it 4-3. Borrino added two goals in the final 7:55 minutes of the first period, helping The Haven to the lead.
The Lady Eagles struck twice early in the second half and LHU’s defense held strong, fighting off the Laker blitz in the final 10 minutes. Not enough can be said for the play of goalie Chrissy Baffuto (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central), who came alive for Lock Haven late in the first, while also standing tall in the second when called upon
She finished with four saves, all of which were crucial to the game’s outcome. Haven defender Melinda Wojt (Telford, Pa./Souderton) was tremendous for LHU. She finished three caused turnovers and three ground balls as her spirited play led another shutdown effort form Lock Haven’s defense. Friday Lock Haven took down rival West Chester 10-5 in semifinal action. The Lady Eagles used a strong second half to push past six-seed West Chester.
