St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s lacrosse team clinched the top seed in the 2023 United East Conference (UEC) Championship Tournament with a commanding win over SUNY Morrisville on April 28th. The Seahawk’s sophomore attacker Hailey Betch led the team to an 18-7 victory over Morrisville, with a total of seven points. This marks the second year in a row that St. Mary’s College has secured the UEC regular-season title.
The Seahawk’s defense held the Mustangs scoreless for the first 19 minutes of the game, allowing the offense to take an 8-0 lead with 11:54 remaining in the second quarter. Colin Horton, the sophomore midfielder, led the offense with two goals and two assists, and Betch and senior attacker Erin Carmody each chipped in three points. The Seahawks headed into halftime with a 12-2 lead as Morrisville’s Cara Walker scored both of her team’s goals.
In the second half, the Mustangs put up a fight, scoring five more goals, but it wasn’t enough to catch up to St. Mary’s. A pair of goals from Walker sandwiched goals from first-year attacker Katelin Scala and Betch, giving St. Mary’s a 14-4 lead with 14:02 left in the game. The Seahawks scored four more goals in the final 12 minutes, with junior midfielder Madison Laine scoring twice, while Alana McDonald netted all three goals for the Mustangs.
The game was physical, with the officiating crew awarding 13 cards – 11 yellow and two green. Morrisville had three players suspended for the remainder of the game after receiving their second yellow card. St. Mary’s scored three player-up goals and two player-down scores, while the Mustangs notched a pair of player-down goals.
St. Mary’s dominated in several other areas, with 38 shots to Morrisville’s 20 and a +6 turnover margin. The Seahawk’s defense forced 11 of the Mustangs’ 18 turnovers and posted a 20-10 ground ball margin, winning 14 of 25 draw controls. Morrisville struggled to transition the ball, with only eight of 19 clears successful.
Betch finished the game with five goals and two assists plus four draw controls, while Horton contributed her 11th hat trick of the season with three goals and three helpers. Scala grabbed six draw controls while chipping in two goals, two assists, and two caused turnovers. Sophomore defender Jill Hayden collected career-bests of three caused turnovers and three grounders to lead the defensive effort for the Seahawks. Junior Maddie Clemmer came away with six saves for her ninth win in goal.
Walker finished the game with five draw controls, four goals, and three ground balls, while McDonald ended with a three-goal hat trick. Rebecca Thomas made 14 saves as Morrisville saw its three-game win streak snapped.
St. Mary’s College will serve as the host site for the United East Tournament on May 5-6, marking the second consecutive year. Tickets will be $5 for adults; $3 for senior citizens, children 6-18, and non-SMCM students; and free for SMCM faculty, staff, and students and children under 5. The Seahawks will play their final game of the regular season on April 29th at Wells (2-7, 0-3 UEC) in Aurora, N.Y. at 10:00 a.m.