#6 Mocs Fall to #3 Setters in NCAA Semifinals

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – No. 6 Florida Southern women's lacrosse's season came to an end in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Championship at Key Stadium late Friday night (May 19) after a two-hour weather delay pushed for a 9:30 p.m. start. The Moccasins and No. 3 Pace Setters played in the rain for the entirety of the game where the Setters came out on top, 22-11.
 
Three Mocs (18-4) finished the game with three points in Jackie Stoller, Madison Tare, and Hailey Daleo, while Abby McFerren registered two goals for two points ahead of Gina Verrone, Lizzy Lynch, Giana Murphy, and Sammy Gorrasi's one point each.
 
Tare led the Mocs with three goals while Daleo and McFerren followed with a pair.
 
Verrone earned three draw controls, tying Kaylee Stoky, where Verrone finished the season with 102 draw controls and 189 in her career. Her 102 draw controls make her the third player in program history to register over 100 draws in a season, joining Dani Bursinger and Sam Keesey.
 
Lynch concluded her career with 206 points on 118 goals and 88 assists with 82 ground balls and 73 caused turnovers.
 
Daleo finishes with 204 total points, 203 at Florida Southern, with 168 goals and 36 assists, notching 63 goals this season her single-season career high.
 
Sydney O'Neill played 53:15 of the 60 minutes and tallied seven saves in her final game as a Moc where she concluded the season at 7-3 in goal.
 
For the Setters, Jolie Urraro paced the team with five goals and one assist for six points. Pace (20-2) had three others join in with five points, including Angelina Porcello with five goals.
 
Florida Southern converted 11 of its 14 shots for goals while Pace had 22 goals on 37 shots on the night.
 
The Setters scored the game's opening goal before Lizzy Lynch found Abby McFerren for the equalizer. Shortly after, Madison Tare would be awarded a free position and punched it into the net for the 2-1 lead, with 11:26 on the clock.
 
Pace closed the quarter with seven unanswered goals to take an 8-2 first quarter lead.
 
After nearly four minutes of no scoring, Madison Tare and Jackie Stoller would go back-to-back for the Mocs to make it 8-4 but three straight from Pace pushed it back to 11-4.
 
Gina Verrone would scoop up a ground ball and clear it before getting found for a free position attempt. Verrone scored her third career goal to start a Moccasin run, 11-5. Tare again would be fouled and earn an 8-meter free position where she again found the back of the net for her second of the game, cutting the deficit to 11-6.
 
Trailing by five, Florida Southern cut it to just four after Stoller found Sammy Gorrasi with 4:42 to play in the second. Pace would score two goals in quick succession to reclaim a six-goal lead, 13-7, before Stoller found Daleo for the Moccasins' eighth goal of the game, bringing the first half to an end, Pace leading 13-8.
 
The Setters would use a 7-1 third quarter to cruise into the fourth quarter leading 20-9. Giana Murphy scored the Mocs' lone goal in the third.
 
The two teams traded goals in the final quarter with Daleo finding McFerren for the first goal of the last stanza before scoring herself with 5:46 to play.
 
The Moccasins finished the season as National Semifinals with an 18-4 record, claiming the program's fourth trip to the semifinals. Read Full Article