Notebook: Division I Women's Lacrosse National Championship

Over 8,000 packed the house at Stony Brook’s Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium Sunday to watch Northwestern beat Maryland, 8-7, in the Division I Women’s Lacrosse National Championship.

With the win came many Long Island story lines and it helps that all eight of Northwestern’s goals were scored by island natives.

The Natives … all from Northwestern

• Alyssa Leonard, Bay Shore … 5 draw controls
• Shannon Smith, West Babylon … 4 goals
• Erin Fitzgerald, Mt. Sinai … 1 goal, 1 ground ball
• Kara Mupo, Rocky Point … 2 goals
• Lacey Vigmostad, Northport … 1 ground ball
• Amanda Macaluso, Hauppauge … 1 turnover
• Jessica Russo, St. Anthony’s … 1 goal
• Alexa deLyra, Bay Shore …
• Brianne LoManto, Rocky Point … 8 saves 

Smith Steals the Show

West Babylon’s Shannon Smith is New York’s all-time leading scorer with 729 points and 505 goals from her high school days. She scored four goals against Maryland and recorded 86 in 2011, as well as 126 total points. The Tewaaraton Trophy committee should already be etching her name on the award given to college lacrosse’s top player. Smith, who earned Tournament MVP honors, scored the game-winning goal against North Carolina in the national semifinal Friday and her goal with 4:36 left Sunday put Northwestern up 8-6, which proved to be the eventual game-winner as well. Her 30 NCAA tournament goals are now seventh best all-time.

Rocky Point Pride

Brianne LoManto and Kara Mupo embraced as soon as the seconds were done ticking. The two share a common bond of having come from Rocky Point. Though two years apart, they both played integral roles on their high school team – each won four county titles – and were instrumental throughout the entire 2011 season at Northwestern. Mupo scored two goals and LoManto made eight saves in the title game. 

Dynasty Days in Illinois

Northwestern women’s lacrosse is one of the hottest college programs in the nation of any sport. The Wildcats have won six of the last seven national championships and weren’t too far from beating Maryland during the 2010 title game either. Northwestern has an all-time best .806 winning percentage in tournament play.

It’s a product of recruiting and head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller has tapped the Long Island area soundly. “Long Island is obviously a mecca of lacrosse,” she said. “The type of kid that comes out of here tends to like what we have to offer at Northwestern University. We hope to continue to do that.”

Attendance Mark

The 8,011 attendance figure is the second highest in women’s championship history. Last year’s game between Maryland and Northwestern had 9,782. The attendance for the entire weekend was 15,469, which is fifth most all-time. 

Quote Roll

• Maryland coach Cathy Reese: “We played great defense to hold Northwestern to eight goals. We didn’t capitalize on the opportunities that we did have. They’re a team that came out to play.”
• Maryland defender Katie Gallagher on Shannon Smith: “It was difficult to guard her on the crease. She’s a good player, she’s tough and she rolls hard.”
• Maryland’s Beth Glaros on Brianne LoManto: “She’s a great goalie, we just couldn’t stick our shots.”
• Mupo on the future of Northwestern lacrosse: “The future is what we make of it. If we set goals for ourselves and work hard like this season, the future looks bright.”
• LoManto on the win: “It came down to having that focus and being able to maintain it for 60 minutes. We fought hard this year and were able to achieve it.”
• Smith on winning on Long Island: “It makes it that much more special to us playing in front of friends and family where they don’t normally get to see you play. The 29 of us worked extremely hard.  It was an extremely fun journey.”
• Hiller on the win: “Our girls could not have played more focused, more poised. I’m really proud of them and excited to bring back the championship to Northwestern.”