(Montclair, NJ) – When it was all over, the scoreboard may have declared an 18-1 Montclair State victory in the Skyline Conference Women's Lacrosse Semifinals, but there were volumes it could not speak. The final score said nothing of the fact that the visiting team had only come into existence 13 months earlier, and had a starting line-up without a single player older than sophomore year. And not only was this the Mount's first time in the playoffs, it marked the first time during the 2005-06 academic year that a Mount Saint Vincent team in any sport had advanced to the Skyline Conference playoffs. With a young roster and a spirited 8-8 season under their belts, Wednesday's game was not nearly as important as the experience the team gained as they try to reach the upper echelon of the Skyline Conference. And for a while on Wednesday, it seemed like the Mount had done just that.
Unlike last Saturday's 17-3 loss to the Red Hawks in which Montclair jumped all over the Mount from the opening draw, Wednesday's first half was a competitive affair with both teams seeing golden opportunities to pull ahead. After Montclair scored only two minutes into the game, the Dolphin defense suffocated the potent Red Hawk attack for more than 10 minutes before a beautiful transition goal put Montclair ahead 2-0 at 18:59. However, during the 10 minutes without a goal, Mount Saint Vincent gained confidence and actually controlled time of possession. And when Dolphin sophomore Maureen Payne (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Marian) found the back of the net at 13:07 to make it a 2-1 game, the Red Hawks were forced to call timeout.
The Dolphins won the ensuing draw and generated a quality shot, but a terrific Montclair save led to a fast break the other way and a Red Hawk tally made it 3-1. Three minutes later, it was 6-1, but Montclair's efforts to blow the game open were thwarted by the Dolphin defense until the end of the first half, and the game remained 6-1 after 30 minutes.
The second half was a different story as the Dolphins simply ran out of gas. Montclair turned up the pressure and their vaunted transition game came to the forefront. The Red Hawks scored at 29:50, and then at 29:37 to make it 8-1. Exactly nine minutes later, it was 12-1, and the rout was on. Montclair finished the second half outscoring the Mount, 12-0 as a 21-3 shot advantage and 9-5 ground ball edge during the final 30 minutes gave the Red Hawks all of the scoring opportunities they could ask for. Freshman goalie Alexis Balingcongan (Glen Cove, NY/Glen Cove HS) was stellar between the pipes, for the Mount, making 10 saves, six of which came during the first half to keep things close.
Montclair advanced to Saturday's Skyline Conference Championship where they will host second-seeded Manhattanville College at 7:00 p.m.
But for the young Dolphin team, the consolation prize was that not a single senior took the field in blue and gold. In other words, Wednesday's first-ever playoff appearance was just the start for one of the newest teams in the region. And despite the loss, the 2006 season has not ended. Mount Saint Vincent will take the field one final time on Saturday, May 6 when they host Cazenovia at 1:00 p.m. The 8-9 Dolphins will look to reach .500 or better for the second consecutive season and keep their faint ECAC post-season hopes alive.
