GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – On the road, against the top seed in the region and with a spot in the NCAA Division II Semifinals on the line, the #2 seed Pace Women's Lacrosse delivered one of the biggest wins in program history Saturday afternoon. The Setters knocked off #1 seed Adelphi University, 16-12, in the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals at Motamed Field, breaking through and advancing to the national semifinals for the second time in program history. Under the direction of head coach
Tricia Molfetta, Pace once again finds itself among the final four teams in Division II, returning to the national stage behind a complete and battle-tested performance.
Pace knew it would be a battle, and the opening quarter set the tone for the kind of response the moment required. After Adelphi scored first, the Setters answered with six of the next seven goals to take early control.
Annie Sheehan tied the game off a feed from
Marissa Doty before Doty gave Pace its first lead of the afternoon.
Mary Kate Nawrocki followed with a man-up goal, and Sheehan added another to push the Blue and Gold in front, 4-1.
The Setters continued to attack with patience and confidence against the hosts.
Mackenzie Carita finished off an assist from
Maddie Schubert before Sheehan completed her first-quarter hat trick on a feed from
Lisa Heffernan. After Adelphi briefly cut into the margin, Doty closed the frame with another goal off a Nawrocki assist, sending Pace into the second quarter ahead, 7-3.
Adelphi responded in the second quarter, turning the four-goal Pace lead into a tied game late in the half. The Panthers scored three straight to make it 7-6 before Doty stopped the run with a man-up goal off a Sheehan assist. Doty struck again to give the Setters a 9-7 edge, but Adelphi answered with back-to-back goals to even the score at 9-9. With the half winding down,
Lia Villari provided one of the game's biggest momentum plays, scoring with 14 seconds remaining to send Pace into halftime ahead, 10-9.
The third quarter tested the Setters again. Adelphi opened the second half with two straight goals to take an 11-10 lead, its first advantage since the opening minutes. Pace did not allow the moment to get away. Sheehan answered with an unassisted goal to tie the game at 11-11, and Nawrocki finished a feed from Doty to put the Setters back in front, 12-11. From there, the Blue and Gold tightened defensively, holding Adelphi scoreless for the final 12:41 of the third quarter while forcing six turnovers in the frame.
Pace carried that composure into the fourth and delivered a closing stretch worthy of a national quarterfinal. Doty opened the final quarter with a free-position goal to make it 13-11, and Schubert followed off a Sheehan assist to stretch the lead to three. Carita then buried a man-up goal from Doty, pushing Pace ahead, 15-11, with 8:56 to play.
Adelphi cut the deficit to 15-12 midway through the fourth, but the Setters never let the Panthers fully back into the game. Pace protected possessions, defended with discipline, and continued to create pressure on the other end. With 1:54 remaining, Carita scored again off a feed from
Jaime Petrullo, giving the Blue and Gold the final answer and sealing the 16-12 victory.
Doty, the Northeast 10 Conference Midfielder of the Year, was dominant in every facet of the game. She powered the offense with five goals and four assists for a game-high nine points, while also adding two ground balls and four caused turnovers. Doty created for herself, set up teammates, and disrupted Adelphi's possession game in a complete performance while reaching 100 points in her career.
Sheehan added four goals, three assists, and seven draw controls, giving Pace another major two-way presence in the win. Carita finished with three goals, Nawrocki recorded two goals and one assist, and Schubert posted a goal and an assist.
The Setters finished with 33 shots, 23 shots on goal, and committed just nine turnovers in one of their cleanest postseason performances of the season.
Defensively, Pace matched the moment.
Camryn Smith made eight saves in goal, while
Natasha Franchina caused three turnovers. Doty's four caused turnovers helped fuel transition chances, and
Sarah Scheidel,
Colleen Gilligan,
Alexandra Witucki, and Carita each added one caused turnover.
The Setters forced 15 Adelphi turnovers and held the Panthers to just one goal in the fourth quarter after Adelphi had scored six times in the second.
The victory marks a defining postseason moment for Pace, which entered the regional bracket as the #4 seed and had to go through #1 seed Adelphi on the road to keep its season alive. After falling to the Panthers twice earlier in the year, the Blue and Gold answered on the national stage and earned their second trip to the NCAA Division II Semifinals, where they will clash against Flordia Southern University on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. from Rochester, N.Y.
