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West Long Branch, NJ – The top-seeded Monmouth University women’s lacrosse team held on to defeat fourth-seeded Mount St. Mary’s, 12-9, Friday afternoon in the Northeast Conference Tournament Semifinals Friday afternoon at Kessler Field.  The Hawks improved to 12-6 on the season with their 10th-straight win and secured a spot in their second-consecutive NEC Title Game. The Mountaineers, meanwhile, ended their season with a 7-11 record.
 
Monmouth jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first half and stretched it to 12-2 with 24:58 remaining in the half. The Mountaineers would not go quietly and started a furious comeback, outscoring Monmouth 7-0 in the final 23 minutes of the game before the Hawks used a late defensive stance to hold on for the win.
 
NEC Offensive Player of the Year Kaleigh Gibbons (Candia, NH/Central) led the Hawks with six points on the strength of three goals and three assists. Senior Cassie Campasano (West Islip, NY/West Islip (Jacksonville)) found the back of the net three times, and Karlee Dean (Medford Lakes, NJ/Shawnee) registered a pair of goals. NEC Goalkeeper of the Year Katie Donohoe (Peterborough, Ontario/Holy Cross Catholic Secondary) made eight saves in net.
 
Mount St. Mary’s got two goals apiece from Kaitlyn Larrimore (Pylesville, MD/North Harford) and Lindsay Diaz (Timonium, MD/Dulaney). In goal, Sarah Jane Leder (Manalapan, NJ/Colts Neck) made nine saves.
 
Monmouth started its early run via the draw control, winning four straight and turning them into goals.  NEC Rookie of the Year Marial Pierce (Middleburg, VA/St. John’s College) struck first, followed by Campasano shortly after. Gibbons and Dean then connected for back-to-back, making it a 4-0 lead.
 
Following the break, Mount’s Diaz converted a free position with 22 minutes remaining, but the Hawks answered with three straight.  Gibbons notched two straight tallies after that, while Allison Stathius (Delran, NJ/Delran) landed on the scoresheet with a goal with two minutes remaining in the half.
 
Mount chipped into the Hawks’ lead with under a minute to play as Molly Morris’ shot got past MU’s goalkeeper, but with 13 seconds left in the opening frame, Gibbons notched her sixth point of the half with her third goal to give the Blue and White an 8-2 advantage entering the break.
 
MU extended its lead in the second half as Emily Barbieri (Parsippany, NJ/DePaul Catholic) found Campasano 35 seconds in to push Monmouth ahead, 9-2. Campasano and Erica Abendschoen (West Caldwell, NJ/James Caldwell) both scored to cap off the Hawks’ four-goal run before Larrimore sparked seven unanswered goals for the Mount to bring the score to 12-9.
 
For the game, Monmouth edged the Mount in shots, 25-22, while the two teams each captured 13 groundballs.  The Hawks earned 15 draw controls for the game, compared to the Mount’s eight, including a 10-1 advantage in the first half.
 
Monmouth will take on the winner of second-seeded Central Connecticut and third-seeded Bryant for the NEC Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.  Opening draw is slated for 1 p.m. on Kessler Field.