Tribunes capture sixth straight NJCAA title

ROCHESTER - For the sixth consecutive season, Monroe Community College has reached the pinnacle of NJCAA women's lacrosse.

Bolstered by a 9-0 run that spanned the two halves, the Lady Tribunes defeated Harford Community College 20-13 on a beautiful Mother's Day afternoon to capture the 2018 NJCAA championship. The victory caps a sixth straight undefeated campaign for Monroe, whose winning streak has now reached 95 games. MCC has eight national titles in the last nine seasons.

Tournament Offensive MVP Brittany Chamberlain had three goals and an assist during the game-changing run that turned a one-goal lead into a 17-7 advantage and briefly put the contest into running time. The Fighting Owls fought back down the stretch, but Monroe was able to hold off a few late charges to hoist the championship trophy once again.

It looked as though the Tribunes (12-0) were going to make short work of the Fighting Owls, as Monroe raced out to a 4-0 lead less than five minutes in. Kyrsten Stone had two of the scores, while Janee DeLuca assisted on three. The lead was 5-1 after Stone tallied her third of the game with 23:10 to go.

But Harford was not about to go away easily. Courtney Poole and Erin Dean scored twice each during a 6-3 run that brought the Owls to within 8-7 with just over seven minutes left in the opening half.

MCC then got two crucial goals down the stretch that gave the team some momentum heading into the break. Sarah Shaffer converted a free position effort, and Stone scored again off a Shaffer feed to make it 10-7 at the intermission.

Held somewhat in check during the first 30 minutes, Chamberlain took control as Monroe scored the first seven goals in the second half. Her free position score made it 12-7, and she later cleaned up a loose ball after a shot attempt and stuffed it home to increase the lead to 15-7. Chamberlain then assisted on a Stone goal and scored another herself as the Tribune lead ballooned to 17-7 with 12:27 remaining.

Like the first half, Harford showed resiliency as they rattled off four straight to make it a six-goal affair. But Kenzie Donahue restored order with a goal with 5:12 left, and Stone tacked on another a few minutes later to help the Tribunes put it away.

Chamberlain finished with four goals and an assist for Monroe. She also tallied three ground balls, three draw controls, and a pair of caused turnovers. Stone had a huge afternoon with six goals and two assists, while Donahue had three goals and one helper. DeLuca chipped in with two goals and three assists, Adriana Williams scored twice, and Fran Messura added a goal.

Monroe's back line was anchored by Defensive MVP Emma Moulton, who was a disruptive force all afternoon. The freshman caused five turnovers and grabbed five ground balls on the day.

Ashley Salvett scooped up a game-high six ground balls while causing four turnovers. Jessica Covell stopped 10 shots in goal.

DeLuca, Stone, Donahue, and Covell were named to the All-Tournament team for the Tribunes.

Nina Urban tallied four goals and Poole added three for the Fighting Owls. Dean and Cidney Gray added two each, while Gray also came away with seven draws and three ground balls. Brooke Siebert came up with 17 saves in the cage.

Siebert, Poole, Urban, and Gray made the All-Tournament team for Harford.