Mustangs Fall in CAC Semifinals at No. 1 Salisbury, 19-8
SALISBURY, Md. - Top seeded and No. 1-ranked Salisbury jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the game's first six minutes and never let the lead slip below four the rest of the way en route to a 19-8 victory over Stevenson in the semifinals of the CAC Women's Lacrosse Championship Tuesday at Sea Gull Stadium.
The Sea Gulls (16-1) will play for their seventh-straight CAC title against Mary Washington on Friday after the Eagles upset No. 19 St. Mary's (Md.) on the road, 23-17.
Meanwhile, the loss ends a second consecutive 10-win season for the Mustangs (10-7), the team's first since 1998. Stevenson's 22 wins over the last two seasons which include a school record 12 in 2008, are the most over a two-year period in school history.
Robyn Bishop totaled two goals and one assist as Salisbury led 4-0 with 24:41 remaining in the first half.
The Mustangs answered by scoring four of the game's next seven goals to pull within three on a goal by junior Lauren Zegowitz (Gaithersburg/Damascus) with 17:08 left, but that would be as close as they would get as the Sea Gulls closed the half on a 6-2 run to increase its least to seven at halftime, 13-6.
The goal was the 44th of the season for Zegowitz and came just 45 seconds after sophomore Lisa Baker (Westminster/Westminster) scored the first of her two goals at 17:53.
Baker finishes the year with 46 goals, 19 assists and 65 points, all team and career-highs, while Zegowitz ranks second with 44 goals, 12 assists and 56 points.
Salisbury scored the first two goals of the second half before the game was delayed over an hour for lightning following Bishop's second goal with 24:25 remaining.
When play resumed, Bishop added back-to-back goals to push the lead to double digits, including a free position tally just 1:04 after the stoppage. She finished the game with six goals and one assist while Logan Bilderback had two goals and three assists. Courtney Sorenson added four goals.
The Sea Gulls scored 15 goals on their first 16 shots with the lone miss saved by Stevenson freshman Jenny Schroeder (Severna Park/Seton Keough).
In the first meeting between the two teams back on March 1, the Mustangs outscored Salisbury 9-4 in the second half to keep the game close. However, on Tuesday, the Sea Gulls outscored Stevenson 6-2 and held a 14-8 edge in shots.
Salisbury also won seven of the nine draw controls in the second half and got five saves from the combination of Sonja Stuart and Julie Ann Caulfield to limit the Mustangs' chances.
Schroeder finished with just one first half save while sophomore Devan Malone (Highland/River Hill) made two stops.
Freshman Spencer Kraus (Mt. Airy/South Carroll) had three goals to lead Stevenson offensively, one shy of her career-high. CAC Co-Player of the Week, sophomore Megan Weiss (Odenton/Seton), had one goal and one assist and finished the season with a career-high 40 goals.
