2017 GLIAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament Central
BAY CITY, Mich. -- The 2017 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament Championship matchup is set as the top two seeds advanced to Sunday's (May 7) final round. No. 1 Grand Valley State defeated No. 4 Tiffin by a 12-9 margin, while No. 2 McKendree ousted No. 3 Indianapolis by a 13-11 count to play for the league tournament title on Sunday at 1 P.M. hosted by Grand Valley State University.
GRAND VALLEY STATE 12, TIFFIN 9 | BOX SCORE
Courtesy of GVSU Athletic Communications
The top-seeded Grand Valley State women's lacrosse team claimed a 12-9 victory over fourth-seeded Tiffin Friday evening (May 5) at the GVSU Lacrosse Stadium in GLIAC Tournament semifinal action. GVSU, which advances to the title game for the fifth consecutive year, will face the winner of the McKendree/Indianapolis matchup Sunday at 1 p.m. The title game will be played at the GVSU Lacrosse Stadium on the campus of Grand Valley State and be aired live on ESPN3.
Tiffin claimed a 16-14 home victory over the Lakers April 9 in regular season action and scored the first goal in this semifinal contest at the 27:10 mark of the first half on an unassisted goal by Elle MacMillian. However, GVSU would score eight unanswered goals to take a commanding advantage. Abbi O'Neal evened the score at the 23:36 mark with an unassisted goal. Carly Shisler gave the Lakers a 2-1 lead just three minutes later, followed by a Meghan Datema goal that was assisted by Chelsey Bishop. Meggan Loyd gave the Lakers a 4-1 lead with a goal at the 13:36 mark and O'Neal hit the back of the net for a second time at the 11:10 mark. Sarah Stagaard kept the goal parade rolling with her first at the 10:35 mark of the first half to give the Lakers a 6-1 lead.
O'Neal netted her third goal of the contest, this one coming at the 9:45 mark to up the Laker lead to 7-1 and Loyd finished the scoring run with her second goal at the 4:06 mark to up the GVSU lead to 8-1. Tiffin ended its nearly 26 minute span without a goal at the 1:44 mark to pull within six (8-2) at the half.
The Dragons scored three consecutive goals to open the second half and held the Lakers off the scoreboard for the first 14:23 to pull with four (9-5). However, GVSU's Ryan Skomial put a shot in the back of the net with an assist by Loyd at the 15:27 mark to push the lead back to five (10-5). Tiffin answered before Datema scored with the helper coming from Loyd to up the lead to 11-6. The Dragons continued to battle and pulled to within three (11-8) at the 5:02 mark, but Skomial hit the clincher in unassisted fashion at the 2:08 mark for the Lakers. Tiffin added a goal in the final 17 seconds for the final margin.
O'Neal led the way with three goals, while Skomial, Datema and Loyd each added two apiece. Loyd added a team-high two assists in the win. Sarah Zwilsky tallied eight saves and earned the win in goal.
Grand Valley State is now 9-0 in GLIAC Tournament action all-time.
MCKENDREE 13, INDIANAPOLIS 11 | BOX SCORE
Courtesy of McKendree Sports Information
The McKendree University women's lacrosse team has advanced to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament Championship for the first time in program history with a 13-11 victory over the University of Indianapolis Greyhounds.
Hannah Sugarman (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional ) put McKendree on the scoreboard in the second minute of play, and the Bearcats never looked back. McKendree would then add four more goals to build an early 5-0 lead on the Greyhounds. Indianapolis and McKendree would trade goals for the remainder of the contest however; the early five-goal deficit was too much to overcome for the Greyhounds.
Victoria Lelo (Auckland, New Zealand/Westlake), the GLIAC Midfield of the Year, led the way offensively for McKendree netting five goals on seven shots. Paige Salthouse (St. Louis, MO/Ursuline Academy) added a hat trick, while Dana DiPasquale (St. Charles, MO/Barat Academy) and Hannah Sugarman (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional ) both added two goals. Bree Suter (Westminster, MD/Winters Mill) chipped in one goal to the offensive numbers. Emily Nelson (Deephaven, MN/Holy Family Catholic) added two of McKendree's three assisted goals and DiPasquale had the third.
Defensively Amy Porta (Ellisville, MO/Marquette) stood tall in cage recording 12 saves and a team-high three groundballs. Lelo dominated the draw as she won 11. The Greyhounds as a unit totaled 10 draw controls. Lelo also added a game-high two caused turnovers.
