SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--Sophomore tri-captain Jessica Scannapieco recorded game highs of six goals, nine points and 14 draw controls to help lead top-seeded Western New England to a 19-15 victory Wednesday over No. 4 Curry in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Women's Lacrosse Championship semifinals at Golden Bear Stadium.
The visiting Colonels fall to 14-5 on the season. The Golden Bears, meanwhile, won their seventh straight to improve to 14-4 and now they will host No. 2 Endicott--a 19-6 winner versus University of New England in today's other semifinal matchup--in Saturday's CCC championship game at 1 p.m.
Curry, led by second-team All-CCC members Ana Bottary and Haley Carey, scored four consecutive goals early in the second half to tie the game at 14, but managed only one more tally over the final 21 minutes of the contest.
The Colonels went up 3-0 in the opening 10 minutes of the game--all on goals by Carey--before the Golden Bears finally broke through at the 18:31 mark on an unassisted goal from Scannapieco. Western New England would tie the score at 3, and the two teams would then trade goals for the rest of the first half. The Golden Bears led 11-9 after a half in which the score was tied five times.
Curry’s Deanna Monfredo brought the Colonels within one, at 11-10, when she scored the first goal of the second half, but the Golden Bears responded with three straight goals to push their advantage up to four. The visiting team then mounted their final rally of the afternoon, scoring four goals in four minutes to knot the score back up at 14.
Western New England appeared unfazed at letting its lead slip away, scoring four consecutive goals to match the four that Curry had just put on the board. When freshman attacker Brooke Kumnick scored her third goal of the game with 9:19 remaining, the Golden Bears had a comfortable four-goal lead for the second time, and this time they did not allow the Colonels to come back.
Attackers Kaitlynn Stevens and Bethany Peters helped Scannapieco carry the offensive load, scoring three goals apiece. Kumnick led the Golden Bears with eight ground balls to go with her hat trick. Sophomore Melissa Perry had a solid day in net for Western New England, stopping 14 shots and improving to 4-1.
The Colonels were led by Carey (six goals), Monfredo (three goals), and defenseman Mel Brickey (three goals). Bottary, who came into today’s game with 114 points (tied for fourth nationally), was held to only one goal and two assists. Goalkeeper Christina Wallis made several nice saves (20 overall), and helped keep her team in the game throughout.
Western New England also held comfortable advantages in shots (46-34), shots on goal (39-29), ground balls (33-22) and draw controls (25-10). (Game Recap Courtesy of Western New England University)
