(Riverdale, NY) – Three years later, the Mount Saint Vincent Women's Lacrosse program has finally reached a height once dreamed about when the sport was introduced as a club program during the Fall of 2003. There were major steps to be taken. 2004 was the program's club season. 2005 was the team's first at the varsity level. And 2006 marked the first time Mount Saint Vincent entered a Conference for Women's Lacrosse as the Skyline Conference sponsored the sport for the first time this season. And after three years of building a Women's Lacrosse dream from scratch, Mount Saint Vincent is heading to the post-season. With Tuesday's 16-4 rout of Centenary, the Dolphins have clinched the fourth and final seed in next week's Skyline Conference playoffs to go along with their 6-7 overall record and 3-2 mark in Conference play.
Freshman Ciara O'Donnell (Bethpage, NY/Kellenberg) scored four goals and added an assist while Cyndi Adams (Mechanicsville, MD/Chopticon HS) netted a hat trick, and Chanel Comis (Durham, NC/Cardinal Gibbons), Amanda Nadhir (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Marian), and Stacie Tripp (Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove HS) found the back of the net two times each as the Mount raced out to a 9-0 halftime lead and never looked back.
O'Donnell's goals came in a hurry as the rookie scored at 25:27 of the first half to make it a 4-0 game, and then scored three times in a 5:18 span late in the first half to increase the lead to nine. The second half saw six different Dolphins combine for seven goals during an outstanding effort as eight total Dolphins scored during the rout. The Mount defense was also outstanding, holding Centenary (1-11, 0-4 Skyline Conference) to 14 shots and four goals. Junior goalie Tara Staples (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendahowa HS) made seven saves, while her counterpart, Laura Davis (Oak Ridge, NJ/Vernon Township HS) was incredible between the pipes, making 15 saves.
Sophomore Nicole Becker (Randolph, NJ/Randolph HS) scored twice for the Cyclones, while Lauren Feldman also added a pair of goals.
Mount Saint Vincent has little time to celebrate its trip to the post-season as three games remain between now and the start of the playoffs. The Dolphins host Western Connecticut tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. in a game that will be played at Maritime College. The Mount then travels for a Saturday Conference game at Montclair State, and a Monday trip to St. Joseph's (CT).
