WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Gianna Caprioli (Clinton Corners, N.Y./Franklin Delano Roosevelt) broke a 2-2 draw with nine minutes remaining in the second half and the New Haven women's lacrosse team never looked back as they went on to take a 10-7 victory over the Saint Anselm Hawks in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship. With the win, New Haven (12-5) advances to the semifinal round to face the No. 2 seeded Adelphi Panthers.
Graduate transfer Katie Schenk (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug) scored the first goal of the afternoon less than two minutes into the game and she kept an eye on the goal throughout racking up a game-best five goals. Overall, Schenk was one of six players to score on the day as the remaining five goals all came from different players.
Joining Schenk with multiple points on the day was sophomore midfielder Summer Castiglione (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial) who added two assists to a single goal for three points. Caprioli, Caitlin Seleny (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton), Ivanna Hernandez (Bay Shore, N.Y./Brentwood) and Lindsey Belmonte (Yaphank, N.Y./Bellport) all combined rounded out New Haven's goal scoring.
Seleny, Belmonte and Schenk all combined to score three-straight after Saint Anselm pulled within one at 7-6 an out the game out of reach with under six minutes to play. The Hawks would net one more goal in the final minute but would muster no more.
In the cage, New Haven was led by its senior goalkeeper Gabby Buscemi (East Patchogue, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) who closed out her 60 minutes of action with seven saves, while her counterpart on the other end of the field, Elizabeth Driscoll, was forced into action 15 times as she faced a total of 32 shots from New Haven, while Saint Anselm finished with 23.
As a team, New Haven finished the day with a 14-6 advantage on the draw while forcing the Hawks into 14 turnovers while adding 19 ground balls. In addition to her team leading five goals, Schenk also led the way with seven draw controls, while Caprioli led the Blue and Gold with three caused turnovers, part of seven total.
