Blazers Cruise To NECC Title Game After 23-3 Win Over Bay Path

CHICOPEE, Mass. -- The Elms College women's lacrosse team earned a spot in Saturday's New England Collegiate Conference championship game after cruising to a 23-3 win over Bay Path in the semifinals at Leary Field on Thursday night.

Vanessa Vurno (Salem, Conn.) led the Elms offense with six goals and seven assists while Alecia Keesee (Westfield, Mass.) and Haley Richard (Monson, Mass.) each finished with five goals. Richard added a team-best eight draw controls in the contest. Madi Jung (Stafford Springs, Conn.) led the Elms defense with four ground balls in the game and goalkeeper Emily Huber (Jefferson, Maine) stopped five Bay Path shots.

Megan McKenna (Bennington, Vt.) scored twice for the wildcats and Kaylee Herring (Worcester, Vt.) added one. Bay Path goalkeeper Kristina Tran (Agawam, Mass.) had 14 saves in the game while being bombarded with 37 shots on goal.

The Blazers jumped out to a 6-0 lead just over five minutes into the game before Bay Path scored the next two goals to cut the lead to 6-2. Elms then built the advantage to 16-2 at halftime and kept the clock running throughout the second half.

Elms held a 17-7 advantage in ground balls and 21-7 lead in draw controls in the game, while out-shooting Bay Path 40-7 overall.

The top-seeded Blazers will face No. 2 seed Wheelock College at Leary field on May 5 at 1:00 p.m. with the NECC title and a berth into the NCAA Tournament on the line. The Blazers and Wildcats met in the regular-season finale on April 28 when Elms clinched the top seed in the tournament with a 17-14 road victory. Bay Path ends its season with a 4-9 overall record.