Just getting there was an achievement, something Port Washington native Alexa Froccaro had heard tell about before Sunday’s NCAA Division II women’s national lacrosse championship tussle between Froccaro’s Adelphi Pathers and the Bald Eagles of Lock Haven.
The junior out of Port Washington High School scored three goals and an assist to lead the Brown and Gold to their NCAA-record sixth Division II National Championship, winning 7-5 Sunday in Salem, Va. With the win, the Panthers close out the 2014 season with a perfect record – a school record 22 wins and no losses.
“It’s a great feeling (winning a National Championship),” Froccaro said after the game. “I’ve never been here before and to be on this field, in this stadium and this game is a feeling that I was told about and an experience I’ll never forget. It was everything I thought it would be.”
For her efforts, Froccaro was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Final Four and earned a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament Team along with teammates Devan Crimi, Jacqueline Jahelka, Felicia Mills and Ryley Weber.
But it was anything but easy.
In the end, the Panthers did it with defense and goaltending, causing a total of 14 turnovers while Taylor Hayes turned away six big-time scoring chances. Weber and Camille Rosellini led the defense with three caused turnovers each, while both Rosellini and Felicia Mills had three draw controls. Four Panthers had three ground balls and Hayes made six stops, including four on free positions, in her 20th victory of the season.
Assisting Froccaro on offense was Crimi, who tied the school record for points with a goal and an assist on the day. Rachel Aitkens also had a big day, scoring one goal and an assist.
The first half was a back-and-forth defensive struggle as the Panthers were held to their lowest offensive output all season with just two goals. However, the Adelphi defense came to play as well, and they pitched a shutout in the first 30 minutes.
The Brown and Gold offense came from Jackie Jahelka, who took advantage of a one-on-one match-up and used an outside roll to get free and score over the Lock Haven keeper’s shoulder at the 18-minute mark. Almost 14 minutes later, Froccaro sprinted past her defender and bounced the ball past Chrissy Baffuto to give Adelphi a 2-0 lead.
““When you go into any game you have to take some time to figure out what the other team’s defense is doing,” Crimi said. “Lock Haven possessed the ball so well that our attack was a little rushed early. But, our attack is so talented that we knew we’d break their defense eventually, given enough time.”
The Panther defense did the rest in the first frame as they forced seven Lock Haven turnovers; five different members of the Adelphi defensive unit recorded caused turnovers. Hayes also played big as she made four stops in the first 30 minutes of action, including two on free positions, to keep the Bald Eagles scoreless.
Adelphi widened their cushion to three goals just 3:08 into the second half when Aitkens sprinted down the right sideline and behind the goal; she found a streaking Emily Keesling, who notched the Panthers’ third goal. However, Lock Haven fired back and scored two goals of their own to get within one, 3-2, with 21:55 left in the contest.
““I think that anytime you play for a National Championship, issues are going to arise that you may not have faced before,” said Head Coach Rob Grella. “Our kids rose to the occasion and got the job done.”
Froccaro tallied her second goal of the game three minutes later to push Adelphi’s margin back to two but the Bald Eagles scored two more, this time just 36 seconds apart, to tie the game at 4-4 with 16:32 to play. Less than three minutes later, Crimi stepped up and scored her first and only goal of the game on a free-position to put the Brown and Gold back on top, 5-4. Froccaro then completed her hat trick, as she scored an unassisted goal with 8:50 on the clock to give Adelphi a little breathing room at 6-4.
Lock Haven still had a lot of fight left as the Bald Eagles scored again less than two minutes later to pull back within one goal, 6-5. However, the Panthers managed to do just enough to come away champions, and Aitkens iced the game with 4:23 to play. She scored off of a Froccaro assist to give the Panthers their final margin of victory at 7-5.
““I want to say congratulations to Lock Haven University,” Grella said. “They did an amazing job today for 60 minutes and had us on the ropes. I’m sure that their coaching staff is proud of them and that we’ll see them around very soon.”
This was the second meeting all-time between these teams with the previous contest coming in May of 2009 on the same field, also in the National Championship game. The Panthers came out on top that day as well, 16-4.
Adelphi 17, LIU-Post 10. Adelphi used its depth and dominance on the draw from Mills, while Rosellini took LIU Post’s Jackie Sileo out of the game, to record a National Semifinal victory on Saturday in Salem, Va. Crimi led all players with six points on three goals and three assists, while Jahelka scored four goals, all in the first half. Danielle Jaycox and Froccaro both chipped in three goals, and Rachel O’Brien had one goal and two assists.
Men’s Lacrosse
LIU Post never trailed en route to a 12-9 victory earlier today against the Adelphi University men’s lacrosse team in a NCAA Division II Men’s Lacrosse Semifinal game.
Brandon Goodwin paced the Panther attack with three goals and an assist while Salvatore Tuttle netted two goals and an assist. Connor Duddy added two assists and a goal.
For the Pioneers, Matty Beccaris was front and center with five goals and two assists. Ryan Slane posted three assists while T.J. DiCarlo made 10 saves at the net.
The Pioneers opened up with a 4-2 lead after one period of play thanks to three man-up goals and four different individuals striking a goal. That lead continued into the second period with LIU Post going into halftime with a 7-4 advantage.
However, the Panthers came storming out to score three goals in the first five minutes and the defense stood tall, not allowing a LIU Post goal until two minutes remaining.
Beccaris then took the stage in the fourth period by scoring three of the four Pioneers’ goals in the closing period to help stretch out the victory to 12-9. The Brown and Gold were within one at 10-9 with 2:03 remaining, however, Beccaris put in two unassisted goals to seal the victory.
The Pioneers move on to play Limestone Sunday in the National Championship in Baltimore, Md.
