Stony Brook, Drexel Set for Rematch in 2025 CAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship
Dylan Smith
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | BOX SCORE – SEMIFINAL 1 | BOX SCORE – SEMIFINAL 2 | PRESS CONFERENCE – STONY BROOK | PRESS CONFERENCE - ELON | PRESS CONFERENCE - DREXEL | PHOTO GALLERY – SBU/ELON | PHOTO GALLERY – DRX/UD
STONY BROOK, N.Y. – A rematch is in store for the 2025 CAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship as Stony Brook and Drexel will meet for the second consecutive season as both programs emerged victorious in their respective semifinal matchups on Thursday.
A CAA Champion will be crowned on Saturday, May 3, with the game time slated for 12:30 p.m. from Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. LacrosseTV will carry the broadcast with Jonny Wilcott and Kylie Ohlmiller on the call.
Game 1 – Stony Brook 15, Elon 4
Top-seeded Stony Brook secured its spot in the CAA Championship game with a 15-4 victory over No. 4 Elon, utilizing six different multi-goal scorers.
A six-point effort from Charlotte Wilmoth (3 G, 3 A) and a five-point showing by Casey Colbert (3 G, 2 A) paced the Seawolves on Thursday. Avery Hines also set Stony Brook’s career record for most caused turnovers after logging four in the win. SBU also netted a pair of shorthanded goals in its semifinal victory.
Goalkeeper Natalia Altebrando also dazzled in the cage for the Seawolves with 12 saves, including five in the first quarter alone.
Elon took an early 3-1 lead after scoring two of its goals in the final minute of the first quarter. After Carley Sgueglia put them ahead with an unassisted strike in transition, All-CAA First Team selection Sammy Fisher beat the horn with a snipe in close off of a feed from Ana Lee Vandiver. Fisher finished with two goals for the Phoenix.
The Seawolves fired back with three consecutive goals, starting with a goal from CAA Midfielder of the Year Isabella Caporuscio just 22 seconds into the second frame. Both teams locked down defensively over the next six minutes until Alexandra Fusco found the back of the net twice, just 21 seconds apart.
Elon’s Caitlin Walsh protected the cage well through the first 28 minutes of the game, making five stops of her own. The Seawolves’ freshman midfielder Julia Fusco doubled the top seed’s lead on a free-position strike with 2.4 seconds remaining to take a 6-3 lead into the intermission.
Lillian Austin broke up Elon’s scoring drought with a goal from the free position at 9:39 to counter an early goal from Caporuscio. However, Stony Brook continued to find the back of the net over the final nine minutes of the third quarter, scoring five unanswered goals, including a pair from Casey Colbert, to take a 12-4 lead into the final frame.
Stony Brook closed the game by outscoring Elon,14-1, over the final 45 minutes of action to secure the 11-goal victory.
Game 2 – Drexel 20, Delaware 11
Second seed Drexel slugged out a 20-11 victory over No. 3 seed Delaware to advance to Championship Saturday. The Dragons matched the most goals scored in a single CAA postseason contest for women’s lacrosse, tying Loyola for its 20-3 quarterfinal win over American on April 16, 1993. The 20 tallies are also the most scored in a CAA semifinal game.
Four Dragons registered a hat trick in the semifinal victory, led by four-goal performances from Allison Drake and Bridget Finley. The latter also unloaded a game-high nine shots. Ellie Wall and Kate Quinn chipped in three goals apiece and Bea Buckley produced a six-point showing, logging two goals and four assists.
The two teams combined for 11 goals in the first quarter. Drexel saw Drake, Finley and Buckley account for multiple goals in the opening stanza, netting a combined seven goals for the Dragons through 15 minutes. Drake produced a hat trick less than 13 minutes into the contest.
Drexel closed the second half with goals from Anna Maria Gragnani and Wall to take a 12-5 lead into the break, only to score three more out of the intermission. The Dragons’ Quinn notched the first two goals of the second half before Finley finessed her third goal of the contest at 11:38 to take a double-digit lead, 15-5.
Delaware saw seven different goal scorers to open the contest. The Blue Hens’ Jaclyn Marszal distributed the ball well on the back end of that mark, providing helpers on goals from Delaney McDaniel and Kiki Grant in the third quarter to pull the Delaware within eight, 15-7. The back-to-back goals sparked a 5-2 spurt to end the third frame with McDaniel getting her team within seven, 17-10, on her give-and-go finish.
The Dragons’ Jenika Cuocco, who finished with 11 saves on the afternoon, shut the door on the Blue Hens in the fourth. The three-time defending CAA Goalkeeper of the Year surrendered just one goal in the final 15 minutes of action.