Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/12/19
From Press Release
The Cabrini women’s lacrosse team scored five unanswered goals in the final 10 minutes of today’s Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championship to pull away from Drew University, as the Cavaliers captured the 2019 ECAC Division III Lacrosse championship.
The Blue and White improved to 14-8 and closed its season with six consecutive victories en route to claiming its first ever ECAC women’s lacrosse title.
Today’s win also marked milestone for head coach Jackie Neary, who won her 300th women’s lacrosse victory. Entering the 2019 season, just seven coaches in Division III history had reached the 300 win plateau. When paired with her field hockey success, Neary owns 545 victories on the Cabrini sideline.
Senior Avery Murphy (Archbishop Carroll) was named ECAC Tournament Most Valuable Player after recording five goals, 11 draw controls, two ground balls and two caused turnovers in today’s win.
With today’s output, Murphy moved to the top of the program’s career and single season goal lists with 238 and 95, respectively. The senior adds these marks to her records of 124 points this season and 452 career draw controls.
Sophomore Ashley Tutzauer claimed game-high honors with seven points, matching a career high with six assists, to go with five ground balls and three caused turnovers.
Sophomore Taylor Dimmerling (Berks Catholic) and freshman Shea Neary (Archbishop Carroll) added three goals each, and combined for eight ground balls and three caused turnovers. Senior Katie Kucia (Archbishop Carroll) matched Murphy with two draw controls and joined Neary with three ground balls.
Seniors MaryKate Keenan (Plymouth Whitemarsh) and Emma Rodner-Tims (Bishop Shanahan), junior Mattie Porter (Springfield-Delco) and sophomore Sarah McCarron also secured two ground balls each.
Freshman goaltender Sam Hamalak (Garnet Valley), who joined Murphy, Tutzauer and classmate Dana Carlson (Springfield-Delco) on the All-Tournament Team, closed her rookie campaign with 13 saves and three ground balls.
It took nearly 9:30 for either team to mark the scoring column, but after Drew’s first goal, the Cavaliers rattled off four consecutive markers to secure a 4-1 lead at the 13:47 mark.
The Rangers had an answer, scoring three straight goals of their own to even the score at 4-4 five minutes later. Both teams added one more first half goal, as the teams went into the half tied at 5-5.
Five minutes into the second half, Neary converted the first of her three second half free position shots to put Cabrini back in the lead. The Rangers again evened the score at the 22:47 mark, but 22 seconds later the Blue and White took the lead for good.
Murphy won the ensuing draw and hit Tutzauer to put the Cavaliers ahead. Murphy claimed the next draw before Neary pushed the lead to two goals 1:13 later. The senior added a third consecutive draw control before converting a free position shot 45 seconds later to give Cabrini a 9-6 lead.
Still, Drew would not go away, scoring back to back goals to pull within 9-8 with 17:47 to play.
Leading 10-9 with 10 minutes to play, the Cavaliers began to pull away. Over the next 6:30, four Cavaliers combined to score five consecutive goals, including two Dimmerling markers, to build a 15-9 cushion with just 3:32 on the clock.
The trio of Hailey Simmons, Allie Didario and Mia Campanale combined for seven goals and 12 ground balls for Drew (16-5), while Didario added five draw controls. Kat Michalski tabbed 10 saves for the Rangers.
Today’s championship victory also marks the final game for Cabrini’s five seniors, Keenan, Kucia, Murphy, Rodner-Tims and Devon Scharf (Lower Merion). This class led the Cavaliers to 56 victories, including a 31-1 mark in conference play, four consecutive conference championships and today’s ECAC crown.
