LHU Lacrosse Advances to NCAA Final Four
Lady Eagles Throttle Pfeiffer
LOCK HAVEN – The No. 5 Lock Haven University lacrosse team punched its ticket to the Final Four with a dominating 17-6 win over No. 7 Pfeiffer University at home Saturday in NCAA Division II First Round action.
Lock Haven (18-2), the South Region’s No. 2 seed jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back, leading third-seed Pfeiffer (13-5) 10-1 at halftime.
With the win, Lock Haven’s 16th straight – The Haven advances to this coming weekend’s Final Four and will meet No. 6 Lindendwood in the first of two NCAA semifinal contests next Saturday in Salem, Virginia.
It was a complete team effort for the Lady Eagles, who dominated every facet of the game.
Jessica Pandolf (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem North) led the offensive explosion with six goals.
Jenna Dingler (Turnersville, N.J./Washington Township) netted a hat trick, while Chelsea Borrino (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas), Rachel Ward (Indianapolis/Bishop Chatard) and Jill Murray (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) all scored twice.
Kelly Hamilton (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) and Hope Thomas (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece.
Borrino, Hamilton and Shannon Bissnette (Pittsford, N.Y/Pittsford) all recorded two assists. Lock Haven outshot Pfeiffer 38-17 and held a 25-13 advantage in ground balls. The Lady Eagles got another tremendous effort from its stingy-defensive unit.
Lock Haven allows just 5.59 goals per game and Saturday’s shutdown marked the 13th time this season the Lady Eagles have held a team to six or less goals.
Individually, goalie Chrissy Baffuto (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) led the charge from the back with arguably her best game of the season. She finished with seven saves, including a pair of point-blank stops midway through the first half. LHU was credited with 11 caused turnovers, including three from Melinda Wojt (Telford, Pa./Souderton). She also had three ground balls as she sparked another effort from Lock Haven’s defense that could be described as nothing short of spectacular.
The Lady Eagles opened the scoring just 1:09 into the game on Dingler’s 28th goal of the season. Less than five minutes into the contest, it was 3-0 Lock Haven, as Dingler scored two of The Haven’s first three goals in the game.
Pfeiffer got on the board with 25:05 left in the first half, but Lock Haven closed the opening period with seven straight goals.
The Falcons scored twice in first 4:50 of the second to make it 10-3, but a balanced offensive attack kept LHU rolling to the end.
In the North Region, top-seed Adelphi took down Saint Anselm, 20-6 and No. 2 seed LIU Post dropped New Haven 10-5.
The 2014 NCAA Division II Final Four is set for Saturday and Sunday at Donald J. Kerr Stadium in Salem, Virginia. Lock Haven takes on Lindenwood on Saturday at 11 a.m. while Adelphi and LIU Post meet at 2 p.m. The Championship game is set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
