ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The No. 4 seed Cedar Crest College lacrosse team edged fifth-seeded Notre Dame of Maryland University in a 13-12 final in the First Round of the United East Championship Tournament on Saturday morning at the FalconPlex.

The Falcons held a slim 3-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. Juniors Abi Sipel (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) and Maddie Graham (Clayton, Del./Smyrna) scored unassisted goals while senior Adriana Hinkle (Palmerton, Pa./Homeschooled (played for Lehighton)) set up Sipel at the 8:07 mark to give Cedar Crest the 3-0 advantage. The Gators then netted back-to-back markers to pull within one. Junior Jade Stewart (Hagerstown, Md.) found the back of the net off an assist from classmate Sarah Generoso (Catonsville, Md.) with 6:09 remaining and then Stewart deposited another, this time unassisted with 2:03 on the clock.

NDMU went onto outscore the Falcons 6-2 in the second stanza to carry an 8-5 score into the half. Senior Emma Alascia (Westminster, Md.) registered two straight markers and then Generoso put one home at the 10:31 mark to extend the margin to two, 5-3. Graham snapped the mini-run with her second goal of the game with 9:35 on the clock to cut the lead to one, 5-4. The Gators then finished on a 3-1 run to push its margin to three, 8-5 at the intermission. Stewart had a pair on the run while Alascia was credited with the other. Hinkle picked up the goal for Cedar Crest.

The Falcons came out of the locker room firing, outscoring NDMU 5-1 in the third quarter. Sipel deposited the initial marker of the frame, coming off an assist from Graham. Hinkle then found sophomore Ellie Terranova (Wilmington, Del./Mount Pleasant) for a goal with 8:14 remaining to cut the deficit to one. First-year Kadee Schrader (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area) tied the contest at eight with a shot that found the back of the cage off a pass from sophomore Kylah Demarest (Vernon, N.J./Vernon Township). The Gators re-gained the lead when Alascia put one home with 7:10 on the clock to make the score 9-8. Cedar Crest tallied back-to-back goals to finish the quarter, the first coming from Sipel. Schrader picked up the helper. Junior Lauren Jackson (Ambler, Pa./Wissahickon) set up Schrader for a goal with 17 seconds on the clock to make the score 11-9 with 15 minutes left.

The Falcons pushed its margin to three when Graham found the back with 12:47 remaining in regulation to extend the score to 11-9. Notre Dame of Maryland registered three straight markers to take a one-goal advantage, 12-11, with the final goal coming with 7:39 to play. Terranova set up Graham for the equalizer with 7:20 left and then Sipel scored the eventual game-winner with 4:13 remaining to give Cedar Crest the one-goal triumph, 13-12.

Senior Kayleigh Woomer (Gales Ferry, Conn./Ledyard) made eight saves in goal in the victory for the Falcons. First-year Leah Hasberry (San Antonio, Texas) was credited with seven saves in the setback.

Graham and Sipel guided Cedar Crest with five points each. Graham had four goals and one assist while Sipel followed with five goals. Hinkle chipped in three points with one goal and two assists. Schrader added three points on two goals and one assist. Terranova recorded two points on one goal and one assist. Demarest and Jackson tacked on assists to close out the points category.

The Falcons collected 22 ground balls in the contest. Sipel led the way with five. Demarest followed with four. Junior Rachel Bilger (Philadelphia, Pa./Upper Dublin) tallied three. Woomer and junior Ashley Large (Parker, Colo./Regis Jesuit) had two apiece. Graham, Hinkle, Schrader, and Terranova each finished with one.

Cedar Crest also had nine caused turnovers. Sipel and Schrader had two apiece while Demarest, Bilger, sophomore Adriana Dias (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic), Hinkle, and Jackson each tallied one.

The home team rounded out the box score with eight draw controls. Demarest paced the team with five. Terranova had two, followed by Hinkle with one.

Alascia led the Gators with seven points on six goals and one assist.

Cedar Crest (9-4 overall) moves onto the United East Conference Championship Tournament Semifinals where they will travel to top-seeded St. Mary's College of Maryland on Wednesday, May 1. Notre Dame of Maryland finishes its season with a 2-9 record.

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