Madison, NJ (May 7) – On a rainy Saturday afternoon at Elizabeth Ruth Hennessy Field, the top-seeded FDU-Florham women's lacrosse team was edged by second-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology, 11-10, in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) title game.
 
Stevens (17-2) earned the league's automatic berth to the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament, while FDU (16-3) await word of a potential at-large bid when selections are revealed on Monday morning at 10:30 am on NCAA.com. At the conclusion of the championship game, Stevens goalkeeper Lauren Cunniff was named Tournament MVP.
 
FDU was led by Katie Walsh (Marlton, NJ) and Kylee Garcia (Branchburg, NJ), who combined for seven goals, two ground balls, three caused turnovers and seven draw controls. Lizzy Escudero (Bridgewater, NJ), Alexis Ashton (Blairstown, NJ) and Brynn Levins (Haddon Township, NJ) all tallied one goal apiece in the setback.
 
In a low scoring affair, Stevens registered the first two goals of the game before FDU received single goals by Escudero and Ashton 40-seconds to knot the game at 2-2 through one quarter of action. Stevens outscored the Devils, 3-2, the second quarter for a 5-4 edge at the break.
 
FDU took its first lead of the game early in the third as Garcia and Walsh went back-to-back for a 6-5 edge. With the game tied at 8-8 following a goal on the man-advantage by Garcia, Stevens posted three straight goals, including two from Morgan Westerby, for an 11-8 lead with 5:14 to play in regulation.
 
The Devils called a timeout and scored twice before the final horn sounded on tallies by Walsh and Levins and had a chance to even the score at 11-11 on back-to-back free position attempts by Garcia. Both attempts went wide of the cage and the clocked ticked to zero as Stevens came away with the 11-10 victory on the road.
 
FDU keeper Jamie Kubach (Philadelphia, Pa.) made ten saves in net for the Devils, while Cunniff, the Tournament MVP, stopped the ball nine times for Stevens.
 
The Devils have now reached the MAC Freedom title game in ten consecutive tournaments dating back to 2012 and are 7-3 in those contests. The 2020 tournament was not held due to Covid-19. Last year's MAC Freedom Championship between Stevens and FDU was also a one goal game, 15-14, with the Devils coming out on top.
 
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