Seahawks shutout Colonels in second half; clinch first playoff spot since 2012

MIDDLETOWN, R.I.- After being tied at halftime the Salve Regina University women's lacrosse team shutout Curry College in the second half for a 7-4 victory to clinch a playoff berth on senior day at Gaudet Field.

The teams alternated goals in the first half after Curry took a 1-0 lead on an Alexis Cran (Branford, Conn.) goal 1:18 into the game. Katherine Miele (North Reading, Mass.) scored for the Seahawks less than a minute later to tie the game and set the tone for a back and forth first half.

Kelly Parker (Branford, Conn.) scored to reclaim the lead for the Colonels, which they held for nearly seven minutes before Kaitlin Gillespie (Haddam, Conn.) knotted the score, 2-2 on a feed from Jessie Severino (Branford, Conn.).

Parker gave the Colonels the lead again off a free position shot, but the Seahawks answered with a flurry of chances, ending with Gina Tortorici (Der Park, N.Y.) tying the game 3-3.

Parker had her fingerprints on the next goal, setting up Malorie Knowlton (Norfolk, Mass.) for a goal from in front of the Seahawk net.

Courtney Moulton (Merrimack, N.H.) scored the equalizer on a similar play. Miele took the ball on the perimeter and eluded a defender before whipping a ball to the slot where Moulton collected it and fired it past Colonels net minder Christina Wallis (Peabody, Mass.) while falling to the ground.

The game was tied 4-4 at halftime and very much in doubt, but the Seahawks controlled the pace of play by possessing the ball in the second half, severely limiting the chances of the Colonels.

The Seahawks outshot the Colonels 36-16 overall and 19-7 in the second half.

On a day where the Seahawks needed a win to keep their postseason hopes alive, the seniors answered in their last home game.

Tortorici found fellow senior and captain Sarah Woods (East Lyme, Conn.) for the first score of the second half, and the Seahawks first lead of the afternoon, 3:56 into the period.

After making Curry go one-and-done on a possession the Seahawks took the ball back down the field and continued to put pressure on the Colonels. Tortorici scored her second with 21:09 left in the half to give the Seahawks a 6-4 lead, and the largest lead of the game for either team.

From there the Seahawks were able to kill clock and keep the ball away from the Colonels, preventing them from mounting a comeback.

Tortorici found Woods again in the slot to ice the game with 1:34 left to play.

With the loss Curry falls to 6-9 overall and 1-6 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC).

With the win the Seahawks improve to 6-8 overall and 3-5 in the CCC, good enough for the sixth and final playoff spot. It is the Seahawks first trip to the postseason since 2012, and the first for Bill Villareal in his first season at the helm of the team.