Box Score FAIRFAX, Va. - The La Salle lacrosse team set a new program mark with 11 wins as the Explorers stifled George Mason 13-4 in the regular season finale on Sunday afternoon. The mark bettered the previous win record of 10, matched in both 2012 and 2013.
With the conclusion of the regular season, the Explorers were announced as the No. 3 seed for next week's Atlantic 10 Championship. The squad will face off against second-seeded Richmond on Friday, May 2, at 1 p.m. at Richmond's Robins Stadium. The winner will advance to Sunday's championship game against the winner of the No. 1 Massachusetts/No. 4 Duquesne semifinal.
The Explorers wrapped up the regular season with a 5-2 conference record. They finished in a three-way tie for second place with Richmond and Duquesne. Richmond earned the second seed based on the cumulative goal differential for games between the three teams. La Salle captured the three seed over Duquesne by virtue of its regular season win over the Dukes.
"We believe we are playing our best lacrosse at the right time," Head Coach Candace Taglianetti Bossell said. "We are happy to have earned the chance to play for a championship and clearly these teams are all very talented. I'm excited to have the chance to play Richmond again because we believe this will be a much different game than our first time around."The 5-2 record came on the heels of five straight wins to wrap up the regular season.
Katelyn Fay and
Allee Ilgenfritz led the Explorer attack in the regular season finale today with four goals apiece. Fay added two assists to lead all scorers with six points.
Caitlyn Brostrand added two goals and one assist, while
Kelly Furman,
Alex Watson and
Anna Kelly drained a goal apiece.
"Our goal vs Mason was to play with confidence and intensity and I think we were able to accomplish that," Taglianetti Bossell said. "We knew that today was a great opportunity to work on some of the things that need improvement as we head into the A-10 Championships this weekend."
Kirstin Russell and Jacquelyn Spalding scored two each for the Patriots (7-9, 1-6 Atlantic 10).
Russell got the Patriots on the board first with a score at 27:04; however that lead was short-lived as Brostrand sparked a 12-goal run spanning both halves with her first goal at 22:12.
Fay and Ilgenfritz scored three each in the first half, Brostrand added one more and Kelly scored her goal before the break. The Explorers took a 9-1 lead into halftime.
Scoring was difficult to come by early in the second half, but the Explorers scored three more to round out that 12-goal run. Ilgenfritz scored her fourth at 20:11, Furman scored at 16:00 and Watson added a goal at 14:22 to put the Explorers up 12-1.
George Mason got three back with three straight goals in a three-minute span, thanks to both of Spalding's scores (11:57, 9:30) and Russell's second of the game at 9:29.
The Explorers took timeout at that point, and ended up not allowing any more Patriot goals for the remainder of the game. Fay added one more goal on a free position shot at 4:13 for the final 13-4 score.
Gabby Antonelli snagged her 11th win in goal, making eight saves in the effort. She concludes the regular season with a .498 save percentage and 8.24 goals against average. Caroline Brouse played the first 13:08 for the Patriots, giving up three goals and suffering the loss. Devin Humphreys played the remainder, making four saves.
The Explorers return to action on Friday in the semifinal round of the Atlantic 10 Championship against No. 2 Richmond at 1 p.m.
