PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Led by a program-record nine points from senior Casey Gelderman (Farmingville, NY/Sachem High School East), the 14th-ranked Pace University women's lacrosse team registered a 26-16 triumph over Franklin Pierce on Saturday. The win clinches the No. 3 seed for the Setters in the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference Tournament. Pace ends the regular season with an overall record of 13-4, and an NE10 mark of 10-3.
Inside the Numbers
*Pace's 26 goals in the victory marks a new single-game school record, eclipsing the 22 tallies they scored against Embry-Riddle earlier this year.
*Gelderman's record-breaking afternoon featured seven goals—which ties her own school record—and a pair of assists. Gelderman finishes the regular season with a team-best 75 points (61 G, 14 A), which is the highest single-year total of her illustrious career.
*Speaking of illustrious, junior Courtney Pabst (East Patchogue, NY/Bellport)—who finished the game with four points—posted her 100th career goal on Saturday. She now stands with 177 points over three seasons. She finishes this regular season as Pace's leader in assists (28).
*Seniors Abby Haimson (Montville, NJ/Montville), Stephanie Chadnick (Brewster, NY/Brewster) and Angela Kelly (Garnerville, NY/North Rockland) also all had four points in the game. All of Chadnick's points came off goals, while Kelly and Haimson each tallied three assists apiece.
*Senior goalkeeper Jillian Oross (Bay Shore, NY/Bay Shore) notched her 13th victory of the season, making five saves in 44 minutes of action. Freshman Jessica Monaco (Somers, NY/Somers) tallied a pair of saves in relief of Oross.
*All in all, the Setters had 12 different goal-scorers and 13 players record at least one point. Pace was able to see action from all active players in the game.
*The Blue and Gold's attack was relentless, putting together a 37-23 margin in shots on goal. The Setters also claimed 13 free-position opportunities.
*The Blue and Gold complete the regular season with a perfect 9-0 record at home. Pace outscored their opponents at home this year by a 157-82 margin.
How it Happened
A fast start from the Setters provided a 5-1 edge not even seven minutes into the game. Gelderman knocked in two of those goals—each assisted by Haimson. After Franklin Pierce cut the edge to 6-4 at the 18:12 mark of the first half, Pace put together their next big run. The Setters rattled off a 9-3 stretch to extend their advantage to 15-7 with less than three minutes before halftime. Pabst capped off the run with an unassisted tally.
Following a goal from the Ravens to bring the halftime lead to seven goals, Pace kept the ball rolling after the break. Freshman Emma Rafferty (Bay Shore, NY/Islip) scored the first goal of the second half, while back-to-back tallies from Chadnick lifted the Setters to a 19-11 lead at the 23:06 mark.
The Blue and Gold's biggest leads, however, would come later in the half. Carlyn Mucci (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) found the back of the net to put the home team up 22-12, while a Rafferty goal with a little over 10 minutes left provided a 24-14 edge. Junior Juliana Marcolini (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) capped off Pace's scoring with their 26th goal of the game with 3:48 left in regulation.
Up Next
The third-seeded Setters will play their first-ever home NE10 playoff game against sixth-seeded Bentley on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
