PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Sophomore leading scorer Raegan Bailey (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) added another hat trick to her season tally, leading the New Haven women's lacrosse team in a 16-10 decision to Pace in the opening round of the NCAA Division II National Championship. With the loss, the Chargers conclude the 2023 campaign with an 11-8 overall record.
Overall, Bailey was one of six Chargers to find the back of the cage on Friday, joined by two others who completed a multi-goal outing as graduate attack Savannah Ernst (American Fork, Utah/American Fork) and senior attack Camryn Antler each net a pair of goals. Rounding out the Chargers scoring was sophomore Gianna Capriolli, freshman and NE10 Rookie of the Year Marielle Colalillo (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset) and senior Annie Acquavita (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire).
Both Ernst and Antler added to their point total with an assist, the only two assists on the day for the Blue and Gold. Each finished the game with three points to match Bailey in leading the team.
Ernst also led New Haven with four draw controls, followed by Bailey and junior Cypress Levitt (Calais, Vt./Montpelier) who each finished with three. Defensively, New Haven forced the Setters into 12 turnovers, with senior Laura Agbayani (Niantic, Conn./East Lyme) leading the way with four. Junior goalkeeper Gabby Buscemi (East Patchogue, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) continued to rack up the saves, adding to her conference leading total with 13 total as she faced a total of 41 shots, 29 of which were marked on goal.
Looking ahead to the 2024 campaign, New Haven will return two of its top three scorers in Bailey and Colalillo who combined for 95 total goals. Bailey led all scorers on the season with 79 points coming on 52 goals, second most on the team, and a team-best 27 assists. Colalillo added 43 scores and 10 assists. New Haven will also welcome back its conference leading goalkeeper in Buscemi who rounded out the 2023 campaign with 187 total saves.