Written by Andrew Capitelli (SJC-LI Sports Information)

Patchogue, NY| The first seeded St. Joseph's College (L.I.) women's lacrosse team will play host to fourth seeded SUNY Old Westbury (6-11, 4-3) in the semifinal round of the Skyline Conference Tournament on Wednesday afternoon for the right to defend their conference title in the final on Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Eagles (11-4, 7-0) enter the tournament on a nine-game winning streak that was capped off with a 12-7 victory over SUNY Purchase on Saturday. The Golden Eagles have not suffered a Skyline Conference defeat—regular season or playoff—since April of 2014, when they fell to Farmingdale State in the final.

SJC won the two sides' only meeting of the season back on Saturday, April 10 when Heather Ferchland's seven goals powered the Golden Eagles to an 18-9 victory. Jenna Kelleher and Kristin Carroll would contribute three goals apiece and Jessica Cordano dished out a career-best six assists.  

Look for the senior midfield partnership of Ferchland and Cordano—who highlight the conference's second-strongest offense (12.40 goals/game)—to be the difference in this one, as the duo have tallied 50 and 51 points respectively this season. Additionally, Cordano ranks second in the conference in assists (36), second in ground balls (53) and third in caused turnovers (36). Ferchland slots in at second in caused turnovers (38) and fifth in draw controls (50).

The Golden Eagle defense—which finished first in caused turnovers/game (15.13) and goals against average (8.39)—will have to be weary of Old Westbury midfielder Natasha Treuman, who finished second in the conference in goals while setting a new single-season program record (58) as a freshman.

Live stats for the match, which is set to begin at 7:30 PM, will be available at this link.

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Wednesday, May 4 - Semifinals (single-elimination)

Game 1: (3) SUNY Purchase at (2) Farmingdale State, 4 p.m.
Game 2: (4) SUNY Old Westbury at (1) St. Joseph's (L.I.), 6:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 7- Final (at higher seed)

Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, time TBA