Eagles Fall To Lebanon Valley in ECAC Championship Game, 15-11

ANNVILLE, Pa. –  Host and top-seeded Lebanon Valley College posted a 15-11 victory over No. 3 seed St. Joseph's College (L.I.) to claim the 2014 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Mid-Atlantic Women's Lacrosse Championship on Sunday.

The Golden Eagles conclude their postseason run with their first-ever appearance in the ECAC Championship game and a final mark of 15-6 overall.  Defending champ Lebabon Valley finishes their season at 16-4.

St. Joseph's received two three-goal performances from junior captain Cailtynn Webber and sophomore Heather Ferchland.  By virtue of her third tally, Ferchland set a new SJC single season record scoring record with 67 goals.

Also tallying goals for the Eagles were junior Ela Igdeler with two and one apiece for sophomore Kristine Minogue (one assist), freshman Jenna Kelleher and sophomore Tori Gregson (three assists).  Senior Karalyn Tetleman assisted on two scores.  Webber also led all players with a game-high 10 draw controls.  Sophomore's Ali Pavese and Jessica Cordano, along with Minogue, were each credited with three groundballs.

Lebanon Valley senior Mel Modrick earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award after posting six goals and two assists in the championship game. Dutchmen junior Bailey Benz tallied nine assists in the game while sophomore Sam Boyce racked up six goals and two assists.

LVC led from the opening draw to the final horn, but St. Joseph's hung around for the majority of the game and made the Valley work for their title.

Lebanon Valley jumped out to an early 2-0 lead as sophomore Sam Boyce and Modrick each scored in the first two minutes.

SJC's Heather Ferchland pulled the score to 2-1 with a goal at 25:49, but the Dutchmen scored the next three, getting two from Modrick and one from Boyce, to stretch the margin to 5-1.

St. Joseph's continued to battle, scoring five of the next seven goals to pull within one at 7-6 with 5:39 to go in the half before Boyce put Lebanon Valley back up by two at 8-6 just before the intermission. 

The Dutchmen came out strong in the second stanza, putting up four straight goals including two more from Modrick, to build a 12-6 cushion. The Golden Eagles never pulled closer than a four-goal deficit the rest of the way.

Valley sophomore Shelby Morris had four saves, while Eagles freshman Courtney Wickline stopped two LVC shots in the loss.

The game was tighter statistically than the score may have showed as LVC held a 21-15 edge in shots, but the Eagles held advantages in ground balls, 17-16, and draw controls, 14-13.

Recap Information Compiled in Conjunction with Lebanon Valley Athletic Communications