Release courtesy of Sports Information Intern, Vin Rinella
GRANVILLE, OHIO – The University of Scranton women's lacrosse team (17-4) fought valiantly but were defeated by Denison (15-4) by a score of 13-6 in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament at Kienzle-Hylbert Stadium in Granville, Ohio.
The Royals close out a historic season which saw them win their second consecutive Landmark Conference Title and earn their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2004.
In the first quarter, Scranton got the scoring started when senior attacker Erin Reich (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) converted on a feed from junior Grace Lane (Long Beach, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) just 34 seconds into the game to put the Royals up 1-0. After Denison responded nearly a minute later, Reich struck a second time putting the Royals back up by one, but not long after that, the Big Red's Merrill Rollhaus scored two times to put the hosts ahead 3-2 going into the second quarter.
Freshman Eileen Hewitt (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East) evened the score at three apiece after finding the back of the net in a player up scenario to begin the second quarter. This, however, would spark a five-goal run as Denison took an 8-3 advantage into halftime.
Scranton continued to battle in the third quarter, but for every goal they would score, the Big Red always had an answer. Down 9-3 with 10:29 to play in the third, Lane scored her first goal of the day to bring the deficit within five before the Big Red responded at the 1:44 mark to bring their lead back to six. Just 25 seconds later, freshman Jillian Lopez (Sayville, N.Y./St. Anthony's) snuck one past the Denison defense, making it 9-4.
After Denison scored a goal with 24 seconds left in the third quarter, the Royals found themselves behind 11-5. Senior Kayleigh Stalter (Lynbrook, N.Y./Lynbrook) scored her first goal of the game at the start of the fourth quarter, but it was too late as the Big Red scored two more times in the fourth to complete the 13-6 victory.
Reich led the team with her two goals, while Hewitt scored a goal and scooped up two ground balls. Senior Karina Roettger (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial) paced the team with three caused turnovers and three ground balls and junior goalkeeper Lauren Boldis (Merrick, N.Y./Sanford H. Calhoun) made a game-high nine saves.
The Royals' 2024 roster included thirteen seniors in Lauren Crotty (Long Beach, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial), Grace Dabulas (Scotch Plains, N.J./Westfield), Courtney Delehanty (Brookfield, Conn/Brookfield), Tara Kotten (New City, N.Y./Clarkstown South), Maddie Ligos (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central), Brooke Lynch (Plantsville, Conn./Southington), Nicolina Mauro (South Hempstead, N.Y./South Side), Shannon Meisel (Budd Lake, N.J./Mount Olive), McKenna Moore (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), Reich, Roettger, Stalter, and Devyn Tanajewski (Ringwood, N.J./Lakeland Regional).
--ROYALS--
