Women's Lax Caps Regular Season with Win

The Central Connecticut women's lacrosse team defeated LIU Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon by a score of 15-14.  The Blue Devils (7-9, 4-3 NEC) were led by a five-goal performance from senior Amanda Toke and three-goal games from sophomore Falynn McCartney and freshman Alexandra Hooker.  LIU falls to 3-13 overall and 1-6 in NEC play with the loss.

The Blackbirds opened an early 4-1 lead, but the Blue Devils responded with an 11-0 run over a 13 minute stretch midway through the first half.   Toke scored four of the 11 goals with senior Meaghan McCurry, sophomore Elyse Malecki and Hooker each netting a pair.

The run gave CCSU a 12-4 lead, but the Blackbirds would rally for five straight goals late in the first half.  However, Toke was able to slow LIU's momentum by recording the final score of the period, giving the Blue Devils a 13-9 halftime advantage.

In a much lower scoring second half, the Blackbirds outscored the Blue Devils 5-2.  LIU's final goal of the game came with 6:21 left to play and actually tied the score at 14-14.

McCartney answered for the Blue Devils with a free position goal with 2:39 left to play that proved to be the game winner.

The goal gave McCartney a hat-trick, while Hooker picked up her hat-trick with a free position goal earlier in the second half.

Junior goalkeeper Morgan Tullar secured the victory for the Blue Devils with a save of LIU's final shot.  With just seconds remaining, Tullar stopped the shot and secured the ball to put the game away.

Tullar improves to 7-9 on the season with the victory.  She made 12 saves in the contest.

The Blue Devils held a commanding 14-6 advantage in ground balls, led by four from senior Ashley Olhausen.  Toke, McCartney and junior Jessica Sudock also picked up multiple ground balls in the game.

Toke also contributed six draw controls and three caused turnovers, both team-highs for the game.

McCartney controlled four draws in the game to improve her season total to 58, which sets a new CCSU single-season record.  McCartney tied an surpassed Betsy Vendel for the top spot during Sunday's game.  Vendel had 57 draw controls during the 2012 season.

The Blue Devils finish the regular season in fourth place in the Northeast Conference standings and will play be the #4 seed in the NEC Tournament.  The tournament berth marks the second consecutive year and second time in program history that the Blue Devils will play in the postseason.

The tournament will be played on the campus of #1 seed and regular season champion Bryant.  CCSU will play the host Bulldogs in one of two semifinal contests on Friday, May 2.  The time of the game is to be determined, please check CCSUBlueDevils.com for the most up-to-date information on the Blue Devils in the NEC Tournament.