PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Each year, one team is faced with one of the toughest tasks in the NCAA, putting on an encore performance that will live up to winning the NCAA Championship. This year the Pace University women's lacrosse team was tasked with that herculean duty after hoisting the DII Women's Lacrosse national championship trophy last year in Indianapolis, Ind.

In years prior, the 2022 champions, the University of Indianapolis, did not return to the Final Four in their encore season, losing in the regional final to Grand Valley State University. Before them, Lindenwood University won the title in 2021 but was knocked out in the first round of regionals, ironically by UIndy.

Even though significant firepower in All-Americans Emma Rafferty, Aleya Corretjer and Kayla Conway alongside contributors Jolie Urraro and Jennifer Sommer all graduated; the Setters still came into the season as the top-ranked team in all the land in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) preseason poll, led by the reigning IWLCA Player of the Year, Angelina Porcello. A spot Pace would not vacate at any point during the regular season.

Before the opening draw of the 2024 season, Porcello received the first of many accolades, being the only DII player to be on Teawaarton Preseason Watch List. The Teawaarton Award is presented each year to the top lacrosse player in all of college lacrosse.

The season kicked off on February 20^th at Northwell Stadium, hosting the Redhawks of Roberts Wesleyan, who at the time came into the year receiving votes in the preseason coach's poll. The Setters took care of business, walking away with a 17-7 victory. This game was the start of what would become a strong offensive campaign for Maddie Schubert, who scored four goals in the contest to set the tone for what was to come. Sydney Juvelier also turned in four goals to start her season on the right foot.

Pace had one other early season tune-up before getting into the heart of the non-conference gauntlet head coach Tricia Molfetta put together for this season. A week later, Georgian Court University came to Pleasantville to face off with the Setters. Porcello and Schubert combined for nine goals while freshman Annie Sheehan recorded her first collegiate hat trick as she became more integrated into the Setters scheme.

Two days later, the fourth ranked University of Tampa made the trip up from Florida to take on the reigning national championships. Last year, Pace made the trip to UT and came out on top 19-8. It was a defensive battle as Pace came out on top 11-5 while forcing the Spartans into 18 turnovers while the five goals still is a season-low for Tampa. Juvelier led the offense with five goals, including her 100^th career goal.

With the first major test passed, attention now turned to one of the most anticipated early season games in all of NCAA Division II women's lacrosse, a rematch of last year's national semifinal, Pace vs. Florida Southern College. On Thursday, Mar. 7 the No. 5 Mocs and No. 1 Setters clashed under the lights of Northwell Stadium, and it wasn't easy for the Blue and Gold but they emerged on top, 16-12. In need of a big-time performance from her star player, Coach Molfetta got just that from Porcello, who turned a program record eight goals and eight caused turnovers. Those eight goals also came on just eight shots. Porcello is the only player in the country to have that stat line in at least the last six seasons. In addition, no player over that time has had eight goals in a game and eight caused turnovers in any other game in a season.

After a grueling pair of games, Pace opened Northeast-10 play, still at home, by welcoming American International College and Franklin Pierce to town. Pace dispatched both foes with ease, winning 23-7 and 23-8 respectively. In that span, Porcello scored seven goals and handed out two assists while Schubert compiled five goals and three assists. Juvelier, and Nikki Mottes supplied six goals apiece.

The next big test for the Setters followed those two games, which also was last year's team's first signature win, No. 4 East Stroudsburg University. When Pace made the trip to ESU last year, ESU held down the top ranking in all the land, and Pace came in and thrashed ESU, 16-6.

The skies opened up prior to the game, with the Setters and Warriors squaring off in a torrential downpour for the entire game. The Setters hopped out to an early 5-1 lead in the first quarter thanks to four first-quarter goals from Porcello. The Warriors did what only one other team would do this year in response, keep the high-octane Pace offense off the board for an entire quarter, as the Pace lead was whittled down to one at halftime, 5-4. ESU tied the game up in the third quarter, but it was Pace's defense turn to hold the Warrior's offense at bay. ESU would not score again as the tying goal came with 13:13 left in the third quarter. Sheehan, Schubert, and Mackenzie Carita provided the rest of the offense to help Pace to their third top-five win of the season, 9-5.

After spending just over a month at home, Pace would finally be forced to hit the road for the first this in the season, making the trip to West Haven, Ct. to face off with No. 20 the University of New Haven. Pace showed no signs of being uncomfortable away from Northwell Stadium as they dispatched the Chargers, 17-6, behind a then career-high six goals from Schubert.

Not to be outdone by her most recent performance, Schubert stayed hot and one-upped her six-goal showing three days later against Southern New Hampshire University, firing off seven goals in a 16-8 win over the Penmen at home.

The non-conference finale was next, with the Blue and Gold making the short trek to Dobbs Ferry to face off with Mercy University. In another downpour, Pace was forced to battle the Mavericks in a game that looked poised to end the Setter's perfect season early, with Mercy taking an 11-10 lead with 3:46 left in the game. Juvelier delivered the tying goal with 28 seconds left to force bonus lacrosse. In the second overtime, an unlikely hero emerged for the Blue and Gold as Margaret Flocco took a pass from Audrey Colucci and fired a shot into the back of the cage to send Pace past Mercy, 12-11.

After an unexpected challenge, Pace was not out of the woods yet, now faced with a trip to Garden City for their yearly meeting with Adelphi University, which at the time was ranked third in all the land. At the time, the Blue and Gold had never won at Adelphi in the 10-year history of the program. The first half was a tale of two quarters as Adelphi hopped out to a 4-1 lead but Pace scored four goals of their own while only yielding one goal to force a 5-5 deadlock at halftime. Pace pulled away in the third quarter, once again outscoring Adelphi 4-1, and held off a late charge to earn the program's first win at Motamed Field, 12-11.

Things slow down for a little for the Setters as they rattle off three comfortable wins in a row over Saint Michael's College (24-5), Southern Connecticut State University (19-8), and the College of Saint Rose (18-3).

A trip to Manchester, NH was up next for the Setters as a date with Saint Anselm College, who was ranked 23^rd at the time, was awaiting the Blue and Gold. It was another back-and-forth battle, with Saint Anselm entering the final quarter with the slimmest of margins, a one-goal lead, 6-5. Juvelier once again found herself scoring in a key moment, once again tying the game, this time with just under 10:30 left in the game. Porcello took over from there, scoring three unassisted goals to send Pace back home with a 9-6 victory over the Hawks.

Another ranked foe awaited Pace, staying on the road to face off with No. 18 Bentley University. Pace had no issues dispatching Bentley as they cruised to a 17-8 victory behind five goals and four assists from Nikki Mottes. Another ranked team awaited Pace in the regular season finale, hosting Assumption University who came into the game ranked 19^th in DII. The Greyhounds gave Pace all they could handle, mounting a ferocious comeback attempt after a quick start by the Setters, but there was not enough time left on the clock for Assumption as Pace completed their perfect regular season, 13-11 to own a 17-0 record heading into the Northeast 10 Championship as the top seed.

As the top seed, the Setters earned the right to host the whole way on their quest to hoist the NE10 Championship trophy for the first time in program history.

Pace drew Franklin Pierce in the quarterfinal, and much like the regular season meeting, the Setters had no issues dispatching the Ravens, advancing easily to the semifinals 19-6. Before their semifinal meeting, the conference announced all-conference awards and the Setters were more than well-represented. Taking home five major awards and nine all-conference awards, Porcello was named midfielder of the year, Alexandra Quinn earned defender of the year, Samantha Tanguay secured goalkeeper of the year, Schubert was honored as rookie of the year while coach Molfetta was named the coach of the year.

All major award winners earned spots on the first team. They were joined by Delilah Doyle. Juvelier and Mottes earned second-team placements while Carita slotted in on the third team. Schubert and Sheehan earned spots on the all-rookie team.

The semifinals forced a second between the Setters and the Bentley Falcons, this time on Pace's home turf. Pace employed a combined arms attack as Bentley never stood a chance, being held to a mere three goals in a 15-3 loss. The three goals are the least the Falcons have scored in a single game since the 2019 season. The win set up a second date with the Adelphi Panthers with the NE10 Championship on the line.

The Panthers and Setters met for the title on Saturday, May 11, and from the opening draw it was evident to everyone this game would not be decided until the final seconds. No team was able to establish a foothold in the first half, especially with the second quarter featuring 15 goals between the two teams. The Blue and Gold created the space they needed in the third quarter, using four unanswered goals to take a 15-11 lead in the third quarter as Pace held on to win, 16-14, and earn the first NE10 Championship title in program history.

Following the championship, Pace earned the top seed in the East Region, earning the privilege to host throughout their regional run. The bracket featured Adelphi as the second seed, New Haven third, and Bentley fourth, meaning a third meeting with Bentley awaited the Setters on May 16.

Following the conclusion of the NE10 Championship, the national honors started to roll in for the Blue and Gold. Porcello, Quinn, Doyle, and Tanguay all earned IWLCA First Team All-Region while Mottes and Juvelier slotted in second-team selections

With the stakes raised from the last two meetings, Pace came out firing in the first quarter against Bentley, racing out to a 6-1 advantage in the first quarter. The second quarter was a closer affair as Pace entered halftime with a 12-7 advantage. Bentley made a final push in the third quarter, with their defense accomplishing only what ESU could as the Setter offense did not register a goal and Bentley closed the gap to 12-9 entering the final quarter. Mottes and Porcello scored the first two goals of the fourth to seal the win, as Pace advanced to the regional final, 17-10 for a third meeting with Adelphi.

A coach's adage says that it is difficult to beat a team two times, let alone a third. This applies to the regional final, as Pace and Adelphi played on Saturday, May 18 for a chance to compete at this year's DII Spring Championship Festival in Winter Park, Fla.

The game started very similar to the NE10 final, with Pace taking a one-goal lead into the second quarter and the Panthers tying the game at halftime. Unlike the last meeting, the third quarter did not do much to determine a victor, that would have to wait until the final 15 minutes. Adelphi killed the Setter's dreams with four unanswered goals to stop Pace in its tracks, 13-10.

Following the end of the season, Porcello and Quinn garnered IWLCA First Team All-America honors while Tanguay and Doyle were named second team All-Americans. This is the third year in a row Porcello earned a first-team slot, while Quinn made the jump up from second-team last year. This is the first time Doyle and Tanguay earned All-America honors.

Even though the season ended earlier than the Blue and Gold had hoped, in the final installment on the IWLCA Coaches Poll, which occurred after the national championship game, Pace garnered a first place vote and finished third, edging out Regis University and East Stroudsburg, both of which did advance out of their respective regions. 

One more batch of awards awaited the Setters. For the second straight year, Porcello was crowned as the IWLCA Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year, making her the first player to repeat as IWLCA Player of the Year since 2017. Quinn was crowned the IWLCA Defender of the Year, the first time the Eastport, N.Y. native earned an IWLCA major award.