Jacksonville Wins Third Consecutive @ASunWLax Title With Second Half Surge

atlantic-sun-womens-lacrosse-championship

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. – Jacksonville defeated Detroit for the third consecutive Atlantic Sun Women’s Lacrosse Championship Final by the score of 15-5 to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Dolphins improve to 6-0 all-time in A-Sun Championship games with today’s victory.

Danielle Della Rocca led all players with six goals scored, while Brittney Orashen earned tournament MVP honors after scoring four goals in the final. Goalie Asia Moore made 10 saves total including some key stops early and the Dolphins used a big second half to defeat the No. 3 seed Detroit Titans at D.B. Milne Field on Sunday.

The opening half was a tightly contested game as both team’s defenses were on top and produced a low scoring half. Jacksonville got on the board first through Hannah Wilcox and quickly extended the lead to 2-0 on Orashen’s 26th goal of the season. The Titans turned to Annie Mendoza, an all-tournament team selection, to provide the reply. She scored two goals to tie that game at 2-2 with 22:45 to play in the half.

Della Rocca then got on the score sheet to give the Dolphins the lead back, before both teams went nearly 10 minutes without scoring as both goalies stopped some point blank opportunities. Della Rocca’s second goal of the day was the final score in the first half as Jacksonville took a 5-3 lead into the break. The Dolphins dominated the draw controls early on as they took the first nine, while Detroit struggled to convert free-position opportunities going 1-6 in the opening half.

In the second half, Detroit’s Mendoza completed her hat trick to cut the deficit to 5-4 only 59 seconds into the second period. From then on it was all Jacksonville as Della Rocca and Orashen scored 31 seconds apart to increase the lead to 7-4, the largest lead of the day. Titans’ senior Tessa Keuler scored her lone goal of the final with 21:55 to go in the game to keep Detroit in the game.

It turned out to be the final Detroit goal, as Jacksonville took over on both offense and defense in the final 20 minutes of the game. Della Rocca continued her offensive dominance as she scored three of the final eight goals in the game to finish with a game-high six tallies. The 2015 A-Sun Player of the Year, Holly Ventimiglia, got on the scoreboard to give the Dolphins a 10-5 lead as the Titans had no reply down the stretch.

Caitlin McMahon and Rachel Rowles completed the scoring in the final two minutes for the 15-5 victory. The Dolphins have won each A-Sun Championship final by double-digits. The Dolphins finished the game with a 15-5 draw control advantage and outshot Detroit 39-20. Detroit’s McCormick ended up with 13 saves, while Jacksonville’s Moore finished with 10 saves. Both were rewarded for their play as All-Tournament selections.

Jacksonville will now await its opponent for the NCAA Tournament which will be announced tonight at 9 p.m. in the Women’s Lacrosse Selection Show. The show can be seen live on NCAA.com.

Jacksonville vs. Detroit Championship Final Notes
– Danielle Della Rocca scored six goals to move beyond the 50-goal mark for the season. The Dolphins have two 50 goal scorers in Della Rocca and Holly Ventimiglia entering the NCAA Tournament.
– Brittney Orashen was named Tournament MVP for the after showing her two-way skills in the final. She scored four goals, while collecting four draw controls and causing a turnover.
– Goalie Asia Moore produced 10 saves today, the third time this season she has reached 10 or more saves in a single-game. First time since registering 10 saves against LaSalle on March 4th.
– Three different Dolphins finished the final with two assists in Sally Holbert, Orashen and Abby Remenapp.
– Detroit’s Lexie McCormick finished the season with 188 saves, including 13 today. It marked her ninth game this season with double-digit saves.

All-Tournament Team
– Brittney Orashen, Jacksonville (MVP)
– Asia Moore, Jacksonville
– Danielle Della Rocca, Jacksonville
– Ashtyn Hiron, Jacksonville
– Kristin Ridenour, Jacksonville
– Lexie McCormick, Detroit
– Taylor Marshall, Detroit
– Annie Mendoza, Detroit
– Ashmore Standing, Old Dominion
– Connor Carson, Old Dominion
– Meg Lingo, Furman
– Molly Marshall, Furman

Posted in

Lacrosse Playground

In 2009, Adam O’Neill, Harry Alford and Thomas Alford launched Lacrosse Playground as the preeminent site for lacrosse gearheads. For years Lacrosse Playground provided lacrosse fans with tutorials and tips on how to string a lacrosse head, up-close looks at the gear the top players used and sneak peeks at equipment and uniforms before they were released. More than 10 years and millions of visits later, Lacrosse Playground has relaunched with a focus on storytelling. Our mission is to provide comprehensive coverage of the latest lacrosse news, share insights into the sports betting and fantasy lacrosse world and showcase the lifestyles and personalities of the sport of lacrosse through articles, videos and podcasts.

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.