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West Long Branch, NJ – Third-seeded Bryant used a three-goal run in the final 10 minutes to turn aside No. 2 Central Connecticut 11-10 and advance to Sunday’s Northeast Conference Women’s Lacrosse Championship Game.
 
The Bulldogs, who improved to 10-7 overall, will face top-seeded Monmouth at 1:00 pm in their first championship game appearance. CCSU, on the other hand, ends its season at 9-8, setting the school record for most wins in a season and qualifying for the NEC Tournament for the first in program history.
 
With Bryant favoring a 7-5 lead at the break, both teams traded punches in the second half before the Bulldogs manufactured their final scoring spurt.
 
Central Connecticut came out of the break with the first two goals to knot the score at 7-all. Junior Amanda Toke (High Bridge, NJ/Voorhess) struck paydirt first to make it a one-goal game with 24:10 to play. Less than six minutes later, Claire Healy (Bay Shore, NY/Bay Shore) beat the defense on an unassisted play to draw the teams even.
 
Bryant stifled the run momentarily as Katherine Keckeisen (Danbury, CT/Danbury) beat CCSU’s Morgan Tullar (Randolph Center, VT/Chelsea) off a feed from Shannon Burns (Mount Sinai, NY/Mount Sinai) with 17:56 showing on the clock. Central, however, reeled off the next three goals, including two by Elyse Malecki (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough), to take a 10-8 advantage with under 12 minutes to play.
 
With the clock approaching the 10-minute mark, Bryant started to come together for its final run. Kimberley Sniffen (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow) scored on a free-position attempt at 9:24, making it a one-goal deficit. Junior Lisa Vendel (Sandy Hook, CT/Newtown) then sealed the game with back-to-back goals in a span of 34 seconds. She evened the slate on a free position shot at 5:36 and netted the eventual game-winner with 5:02 remaining.
 
For the game, Sniffen led all scorers with four goals, including three in the first half when Bryant jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Haley Bloom (Hauppauge, NY/St. Anthony’s) netted two, joining Keckeisen and Vendel as Bulldogs with two goals apiece.
 
CCSU saw three players score twice, including Healy, who was one of two Blue Devils to record three points in the game. Falynn McCartney (North Kingston, RI/LaSalle Academy) scored once and dished out a team-high two assists.
 
In goal, Bryant junior Brianna Watt (Babylon, NY/Babylon) recorded the win with nine saves while CCSU’s Tullar suffered the loss with a game-high 13.

Overall, Bryant outshot Central Connecticut 36-21 and held a 16-15 advantage in ground balls. CCSU held the upper hand in draw controls, 13-11.