5/2/2007 - (Hoboken, NJ) - Sometimes in sports, even the saddest cloud has a silver lining. Such is the story of the 2007 Women's Lacrosse team who overcame all sorts of adversity to enjoy yet another successful season. Despite an incredibly young team, the Mount finished the regular season 9-7 despite facing the toughest schedule in the history of the program, and the Mount competed with every team on their nationally competitive slate. They also earned the #3 seed for the Skyline Conference playoffs, the highest seed in the program's brief history. And after battling, clawing, and fighting their way back from an 8-2 second-half deficit on Wednesday night to lose 9-8 to Stevens in the Skyline Conference Semifinals, it was clear that if indeed the 2007 campaign has come to an end for the Mount, they end the season knowing they were in fact the best team to ever wear the blue and gold.

Freshman goalie Jackie Horn made 12 saves, including nine during the first half to keep the game close and allow the Mount Saint Vincent Women's Lacrosse team to come back from an 8-2 deficit and nearly pull off an improbable comeback in the Skyline Conference Semifinals. However, second-seeded Stevens ultimately prevailed 9-8 over the third-seeded Dolphins. The Mount now awaits a possible bid to the ECAC Upstate Tournament with the selections being announced on Monday.

The game lacked the look and feel of a competitive conference semifinal game between teams that battled to a 9-8 Stevens win only 17 days ago. After Mount Saint Vincent failed to convert two golden scoring opportunities during the game's opening minutes, the Ducks (11-6) took control and raced out to a 4-0 lead only nine minutes into the game, scoring the four goals during a five-minute span. After a Khrystina Jackson (West Islip, NY/West Islip HS) goal at 19:50 made it 4-1, Stevens increased the lead to 5-1 at 17:12. The Dolphins gained some momentum after a Katie Tucci (Baldwinsville, NY/Baldwinsville HS) goal at 11:59 made it 5-2, but Stevens answered with two goals during a 35-second span to take a 7-2 lead into halftime.

Two minutes into the second half, it was 8-2, and it appeared as if a terrific season for Mount Saint Vincent was coming to a disappointing close. However, junior Maureen Payne (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Marian) and the Dolphins went down fighting and nearly pulled off an improbable comeback. Payne scored on a free position shot to make it 8-3, and then scored an unassisted goal two minutes later to cut the deficit to 8-4. After Stevens made it 9-4 with 11:32 to play, the Mount defense shut down the Stevens offense for the rest of the game, and the Dolphins chipped away even further. Freshman Kelly Martin (North Rockland, NY/North Rockland HS) scored on a free position shot with 7:17 to play to make it 9-5. 1:12 later, Payne scored unassisted to make it 9-6. After a Stevens time-out, Payne scored again with 4:08 to play to make it 9-7.

On the ensuing draw, things got really interesting. Stevens won the draw, and passed the back to their defense. Junior Cyndi Adams (Mechanicsville, MD/Chopticon HS) was there waiting and promptly forced a turnover, scooped up a loose ball for a breakaway, and feed a wide-open Jackson, who scored her second goal of the game to make it 9-8. Adams had one final chance to tie the game with 1:20 remaining, but Stevens goalie Stephanie Linder made a spectacular save, her eighth of the game, to preserve the victory. Stevens held the ball for the final 1:15 to escape with the win and a trip to the Skyline Conference Semifinals.

Overall, Stevens outshot the Mount 27-18 and had a 20-14 edge in ground balls, and a 13-6 advantage in draw controls. However, much of the advantage came early in the game as the Mount controlled play for virtually the entire second half. For the Mount, freshman goalie Jackie Horn (Setauket, NY/Ward Melville HS) had a terrific night in net, making 12 saves, including nine during the first half, and the Dolphin defense allowed 10 goals or less for the 12th time during their 17-game season.

Mount Saint Vincent now awaits a possible berth in the ECAC Upstate/Metro playoffs. The announcement will be made on Monday.