Dowling women's lacrosse ousted in NCAAs
Nicole Moran, a member of the women's lacrosse team at Dowling College. Credit: Handout
In what could be considered a regional debate on women's lacrosse power -- Upstate vs. Long Island -- Syracuse-based Le Moyne College last night ended Dowling's season, 18-9, in what amounted to a Division II NCAA tournament quarterfinal.
Playing on Dowling's Brookhaven campus against a Dowling roster completely stocked with Long Island players, Le Moyne pulled steadily away from a one-goal lead early in the second half. With its team of all Syracuse-area players, Le Moyne will continue its geographic argument Saturday at Adelphi, its Northeast-10 Conference rival and the only team to beat Le Moyne (18-2) this season.
That semifinal game -- and the NCAA championship final next Sunday -- will be played at Adelphi's Garden City campus.
Dowling (15-2) brought a perfect 8-0 East Coast Conference record and No. 5 national ranking into the game in only its fourth season of existence. It was the first-ever meeting of the two teams in women's lacrosse since this is Le Moyne's first year competing in Division II, which fields only 59 teams in the sport, nationwide, and handed out only six berths in the championship tournament.
West Chester, a 9-8 winner over Lock Haven earlier yesterday, will meet Limestone (S.C.) in the other tournament semifinal.
Junior Brittany Brigandi, a Syracuse native who transferred to Le Moyne from UMass, led all scorers with five goals -- bringing her season total to a startling 82 -- and senior Michelle Phillips added four.
Senior Cassandra Cronin, the ECC conference player of the year from Islip Terrance, and Lindenhurst sophomore Nicole Moran, who transferred from Stony Brook, each scored three goals for Dowling.
"Great season," said Dowling coach Kerri McCabe, looking at the big picture. "To get to this point, which we set forth as a goal at the beginning of the season, is a great accomplishment."
To recruit Long Islanders, McCabe said, was the logical starting point for a new program. "Long Island is a hotbed for lacrosse," she said. "If we can get them to stay home, that's important."
Dowling led only briefly, at 1-0, just three minutes into the game against second-ranked Le Moyne when Brooke Witkowski, the Lindenhurst junior who led the team in total points this season, curled around the cage for a five-yard goal.
Le Moyne answered less than a minute later and slowly built toward a 6-4 lead, partly on the goalkeeping of junior Kelly Fuccilo. During a three-minute stretch midway through the first half, with LeMoyne up, 5-2, Fucillo made two saves from point-blank range on Moran and watched Witkowski hit the post.
Though Dowling pulled within a goal at 6-5 only seconds in to the second half on East Islip senior Kelly Cefalu's submarine shot, Le Moyne began to regularly outdodge, and tiptoe around, Dowling's defenders.
