LEICESTER, Mass. – After missing out on the 2020 New England Collegiate Conference Women's Lacrosse season, the NECC Postseason is back for 2021, with a spot in the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championships on the line.
Thursday's game at Alumni Field features the No. 1 seed Becker Hawks facing the No. 4 seed Mitchell Mariners at 4:00 p.m. in a semifinal round game.
The Hawks earned the No. 1 seed after going 5-1 in conference play this season while claiming the regular season championship and earning home-field advantage for the postseason. Meanwhile, the Mariners come into Thursday's action with an 0-6 record in the NECC, drawing the fourth seed after their campaign.
In the first meeting between the two sides on a rainy afternoon in mid-April, the Hawks walked away with an 18-7 win. Five days later, the Hawks and Mariners would meet again, this time under sunny skies, as the Hawks won that meeting 22-5.
Thursday's weather forecast calls for conditions to be like the first time these two teams met, with rain almost a guarantee at Alumni Field for the 4:00 p.m. semifinal match.
Becker's offense is led by junior Clare Conway (Billerica, Mass.), who was recently named the NECC Offensive Player of the Year, following a season with 38 goals, 26 assists, and 64 points, all ranking first in team totals.
Junior Kylian Kelly (Shrewsbury, Mass.) is one of the conference's best all-around players and was awarded the NECC Defensive Player of the Year after collecting a team-high 62 draw controls and 30 caused turnovers, to go with the second most ground balls on the Hawks with 39.
Kelly added 13 goals and eight assists on the Hawks offense for 21 total points, fourth-most among all Hawks players.
Junior Julia Ravenelle (Barrington, N.H.) was voted to the All-Conference First Team in the midfield following a season with 32 goals and 18 assists. Senior Arianna Calouro (East Providence, R.I.) also contributed to the Hawks attack, finishing the season with 24 goals and 12 assists.
The Hawks defense led the league in goals against average, surrendering 8.50 goals per game against NECC opponents. Seniors Katherine Capobianco (North Andover, Mass.) and Emma Schoenbeck (Gorham, N.H.), along with sophomore Olivia Sherwood (Southington, Conn.) and freshman Karina Laxton (Holbrook, N.Y.) have all been vital in holding NECC opponents to the 8.50 goals per game.
In goal, Hawks freshman Chloe Isola (Oviedo, Fla.) is riding a five-game winning streak and is second in the NECC is saves and third in the conference in save percentage.
For Mitchell, the senior combination of Hannah Corrigan (Fairfax, Vt.) and Lindsay Fairbank (Newington, Conn.) led the Mariners offense. Corrigan led the team with 23 goals this season while Fairbank chipped in 19 goals and was voted to the All-Conference First Team as a midfield.
Freshman Abigail Rasmussen (Montville, Conn.) was selected to the All-Conference First Team as a defender following a season with 23 draw controls and 22 ground balls.
The Mariners goal will likely be guarded by either senior Ashley Holdridge (Ledyard, Conn.) or senior Lexi Incropera (Lawrence, Mass.). Holdridge has been in the goal for most of the Mariners season, including both losses to the Hawks.
The winner of this game goes on to the NECC Championship Game and faces off against the winner of the No. 2 New England Pilgrims and No. 3 Elms Blazers, who also play Thursday at 4:00 p.m.
