Box Score GRANTHAM, Pa. -- Stevenson women's lacrosse opened up a sizable lead and held off a final push from Messiah during a 13-8 victory in Wednesday's Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Commonwealth Semifinals. The Mustangs advance to the conference championship game on Saturday, May 7 with the victory.
Stevenson (12-6) dictated in all facets while scoring eight unanswered goals and building a sizable lead into the third quarter. Caroline Murphy registered six points on one goal and five assists, while McKenna Blick and Lan Le Crotty notched three goals each. Sophie Shucosky gobbled up 11 saves on the day as Stevenson used relentless pressure on the defensive end to open up the decisive margin.
Stevenson returns to the MAC Commonwealth Championship game for the first time since the 2017 season. The Mustangs outscored Messiah (13-5) over the initial three quarters before the Falcons looked to climb back into the game in the fourth.
Rachel Delate notched seven points on six goals and one assist, but the Falcons were limited to just two goals over nearly three quarters of game action. Stevenson opened the contest with Kaitlyn Kozlowski slashing through for a 1-0 advantage. Messiah answered just about two minutes later before the Mustangs closed out the frame with three unanswered in the first. Lan Le Crotty, Kozlwoski and McKenna Blick all found the back of the net, pushing the third-seeded Mustangs ahead at 4-1.
Messiah secured the opening draw control of the second and ripped a quick chance that Shucosky denied, one of several key stops that stifled the Falcon offense. Stevenson continued clamping down on defense, keyed by more impressive saves from Shuckosky in the second quarter. Out of a timeout, the Mustangs nearly forced a shot clock violation before Shuckosky gathered in a late heave from Messiah with just about four minutes left in the half.
After some quick passing, Blick carved inside to the right wing before ripping a big goal with just 20 ticks left in the opening half, accounting for the only goal of the second stanza. Combined with the strong defense, Blick pushed Stevenson ahead 5-1 at the break.
In the second half, the Mustangs kept their foot on the gas pedal with four consecutive goals while holding possession for most of the quarter. Crotty netted her second of the afternoon at 14:10. After nabbing the ensuing draw control, Caity Schaefer pushed Stevenson ahead 7-1 with a cross-crease goal late in the shot clock. From there, Caroline Murphy scored in front before Blick ripped her 51st of the season at the 8:44 mark for a 9-1 advantage.
Messiah snapped its scoreless drought with 7:53 left in the third as Rachel Delate converted her second unassisted tally of the day. Kara Yarusso countered with a driving goal from the left side, expanding the Stevenson lead to 10-2 with 5:01 showing in the third and the Mustangs added another with Kellyann Coccia getting on the board.
Delate raced in to open the scoring in the fourth for Messiah just 30 seconds into the quarter, part of a 3-0 spurt for the Falcons as time continued melting away. Stevenson worked its lead to 12-5 on a rebound chance for Mary Marc with 6:02 left in the contest. Messiah made one final push, posting consecutive markers in the fourth and slicing the Stevenson edge to 12-7. Both sides traded goals in the waning moments of the fourth quarter as Stevenson closed out the postseason victory.
NEWS AND NOTES
- Kozlowski secured her 100th draw control of the season after winning the game's initial draw. She finished with six draw controls on the day, the 22nd time in her career she has posted five or more.
- Stevenson last shut out an opponent in a quarter on April 9 against Eastern, shutting out the Eagles for the final three periods.
- Messiah had won three consecutive meetings with Stevenson, including last season's MAC Commonwealth Semifinal.
- The Mustangs held a 32-25 advantage in shots, skewed by the last gasp from Messiah in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter.
- Murphy remains fourth in program history in career points (220), while moving into sole possession of third in career assists (61) and third in career goals (159).
- Murphy moves into a tie for second in program history with 84 points this season, matching Leah Warner in 2014.
- Murphy passed Warner for third all-time in goals for a single season (55). Murphy also moved to third in single-season assists for the Mustangs.
- Murphy posted her 10th game of the season and 20th of her career with five points of more.
UP NEXT
- Stevenson faces the winner of the York/Lebanon Valley game in the MAC Commonwealth Championship.
