April 18, 2010

Final Stats

Siena women's lacrosse scored seven goals in seven minutes to take a commanding 10-goal lead during the second half and cruised to a 20-12 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference win at Niagara Sunday afternoon. The win paired with a loss by Iona at Marist, gives the Saints a spot in the four-team MAAC Tournament for the first time since 2005.

Head Coach Andrea Duffy has turned the tables in her second season. Last year, the Saints finished in last place with a 0-6 conference record. After being picked sixth in the Preseason Coaches' Poll this year, they're 3-2 and will play in just the program's second MAAC Tournament ever.

Siena (7-7, 3-2) started the game hot and led throughout. Erin Hepper scored the game's first two goals followed by Michelle Andreo. Siena led 8-4, but Niagara (1-8, 0-3) closed the gap with two late goals in the first half.

After a slow first 10 minutes of the second half, Siena turned it on and scored seven times in seven minutes. Andreo tallied three goals during that decisive run as she finished with a career-high six goals.

Caitlin Mikel bounced back with six points on five goals and one assist while Hepper continued her all around excellence, scoring four goals and adding four ground balls, four draw controls and two caused turnovers.

Mikel leads the team with 61 points and is four points shy of tying the school's single season record set by Lindsey Rosecrans '09 last year (65).

Siena had its best game of the season from the eight-meter circle. The Saints scored on 7-of-8 free position shots.

The Saints wrap up the regular season with a road game at defending MAAC Champion Fairfield next Sunday. The MAAC Tournament is scheduled for April 30 and May 2 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.