Courtesy of Brockport Sports Information Department
EWING, N.J. – The College at Brockport women's lacrosse team completed their 2017 season in the 'Sweet 16' round of the 2017 NCAA Women's Lacrosse National Championship Tournament on Saturday, falling to the defending national champions, Middlebury College, 14-7.
The Golden Eagles finish the season with a record of 16-3, a new mark in program history for wins in a season. The Panthers advance to the 'Elite 8' with a record of 16-4.
Brockport suffered from a sluggish start in the first half, as Middlebury set the tone early with seven straight scores. Andrea Zlinsky was finally able to break through for the Green and Gold, halting their scoring silence with an unassisted goal at the seven minute mark to make the score 7-1. The Panthers would add three more goals to close the half, as Brockport took a 10-1 deficit into the break.
In the second half, the Green and Gold found their fight, and came out swinging. After a rousing halftime speech, head coach Stephen Wagner's unit netted the opening three goals of the half, with Heather Conklin connecting on three straight, with Kelly Wall assisting on one, cutting the Brockport deficit to 10-4.
The strong Middlebury team had the answer, with three goals, but Dana Kiselica worked to halt their streak, netting her second goal of the season at the 13:39 mark to make the count 13-5. After a last Panther score, Brockport netted the final two scores of the contest, with Conklin adding a fourth and in the final minute Jessica Boddery burying a Wall pass to make the final count 14-7.
The Golden Eagles battled to keep pace with the Panthers in other statistical categories, with each team winning 11 draws and awarded six free-position shots. The Green and Gold forced 12 Middlebury turnovers and went 16-for-18 on clears.
Cassandra Minerd led the defense, picking up four ground balls and two caused turnovers on the day. Katie Curran added a pair of caused turnovers to go with two ground balls. In addition to her two assists, Wall added four draw control wins, while Conklin and Nikki Nolan each had two, with Nolan also scooping two ground balls.
Sara Shaddock saw all 60 minutes in cage for the Green and Gold, making an impressive 11 saves, facing 27 shots on the day.
Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.
