NCAA Semifinal Matchups Set in Division III Women's Lacrosse

Sun May 21 2023 | Kenny DeJohn | College
College Women Division III

PHOTO COURTESY OF GETTYSBURG ATHLETICS

Julia Daly had one goal and one assist in Gettysburg's 17-8 win over York.

The 46-team tournament field is down to four.

After third-round action on Saturday and quarterfinal action on Sunday, the field has dwindled considerably this weekend. A quartet of teams remain in the hunt for the national championship, which will be played on Sunday, May 28, at Kerr Stadium in Salem, Virginia.

But first things first — the semifinals on May 26. Let’s see which teams advanced to the Division III women’s championship weekend.

NCAA DIVISION III WOMEN’S
QUARTERFINAL SCORES

Franklin & Marshall 18, Pomona-Pitzer 13
Gettysburg 17, York 8
Middlebury 12, Colby 7
William Smith 14, Tufts 4

NCAA SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS
FRIDAY — ALL TIMES EASTERN

12 p.m. — Middlebury vs. Franklin & Marshall
3 p.m. — William Smith vs. Gettysburg

GETTYSBURG 17, YORK 8

Caroline Sullivan and Jordan Basso set the tone for Gettysburg early, having a hand in the first four Bullets goals. Gettysburg scored six straight to open the contest, putting York in a deep hole before it could get its own offense running. It’s the second straight Final Four appearance for Gettysburg.

Sullivan posted a career-high eight points (two goals, six assists), and Basso had six points (five goals, one assist).

A large part of Gettysburg’s success was draw dominance, as the Bullets finished with a 20-9 edge in the circle. Emily Crane led Gettysburg with seven draw controls with Lily Macatee finishing close behind with six.

MIDDLEBURY 12, COLBY 7

Middlebury surrendered the game’s first goal but scored the next eight, creating enough of a cushion to withstand a second-quarter push from Colby in a 12-7 win. It’s Middlebury’s 26th straight win.

Jane Earley had one goal and four assists, Hope Shue had three goals and one assist and Susan Rowley had a hat trick. Middlebury’s offense was humming, outshooting Colby 42-18.

Annie Eddy opened the scoring for Colby, but the Panthers went on a tear to go up 8-1. Colby closed the gap with a 4-0 run featuring goals from Paige Saudek, Eddy, Elizabeth Hennessey and Julia Jardina.

Up 9-6 at the start of the fourth quarter, Middlebury got consecutive strikes from Shue and Rowley to put the game out of reach at 11-6.

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 18, POMONA-PITZER 13

Franklin & Marshall got big-time offensive performances from Sydney Lowe (five goals, one assist), Lydia Cassilly (three goals, three assists), Gillian Brennan (four goals, one assist) and Maddy Birch (three goals) in its 18-13 win over Pomona-Pitzer.

F&M led 7-3 at the end of the first quarter and 12-4 at halftime. Pomona-Pitzer cut the deficit to six goals at 15-9 by the end of the third quarter, but the first-half hole proved far too large to recover from.

WILLIAM SMITH 14, TUFTS 4

The Herons are still undefeated. One day after Maddie Montgomery did just about everything for William Smith, she had four goals, one assist and seven draw controls in a 14-4 win over Tufts in the quarterfinals.

Natalie Daniels added four goals, and Kaitlin Pellechia had a hat trick. Maura Smeader made seven saves.

It was all William Smith from the jump. The Herons scored the first six goals and shut out Tufts in the first quarter. It was 8-1 at halftime and 12-1 after Pellechia finished a Montgomery feed with 9:14 left in the third quarter.

Tufts didn’t score consecutive goals until Ella Lesperance scored with 4:45 and 2:33 left in the contest.