Anne Arundel tops Onondaga to advance to title game
Shannon O'Neal powers the Pioneers past the Lazers.
ROCHESTER, NY - The Anne Arundel Community College Pioneers advanced to the NJCAA women's lacrosse championship game with a 12-10 victory over defending national champion Onondaga CC on John L. DiMarco Field at Monroe Community College Saturday.
Anne Arundel (13-2) will play for the title at 1 p.m. Sunday against top-ranked Monroe Community College. Onondaga finishes the season 12-3.
The Lazers started hot out of the gate, taking a 6-2 lead with 11:31 left in the opening half. Danielle Falck scored three of the goals as the Lazers looked to take control.
The Pioneers responded, however, scoring four unanswered to tie the game at the half. Tyler Hebb started the run with a free position goal with 10:05 left. Meghenn Jackson and Shannon O'Neal then scored 54 seconds apart to make it 6-5, and O'Neal tied it with 5:33 left before the break.
Anne Arundel then tallied the first four to open the second half, and the 8-0 run spanning the intermission helped the Pioneers take hold of the momentum and take a 10-6 lead. O'Neal continued her scoring assault, scoring three of the four.
The Lazers weren't done, however, and OCC scored three straight to make it 10-9 with 13:04 left. But Anne Arundel slowed the pace, and goals by O'Neal and Hebb restored a three-goal lead.
O'Neal finished with seven goals, and Jackson and Hebb added two apiece. Ashlynn Parks also scored, and Brittani Biddinger finished with six saves in goal.
Falck scored three times and Claire Wigler added two goals and two assists for OCC. Taylor Smith also scored twice, and Erin Patenaude, Alexis Czyz, and Jenna Battaglini all scored once.
Abbie Burd stopped 10 shots for the Lazers.