Beavers seeded fourth, off to Castleton

FARMINGTON, Maine -- The fourth-seeded University of Maine at Farmington women's lacrosse team is headed to No. 1 Castleton State College for the North Atlantic Conference East Division semifinals on Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Beavers finished their regular season at 5-5 on the spring, including a 3-3 mark in the division, and have reached the semifinals for the third straight year.

"Our team is looking forward to playing Castleton in the first round of playoffs on Saturday," said head coach Molly Wilkie. "We have met and exceeded many of the goals we set for ourselves, but we don't feel like we are done yet. To win, it will take a collective team effort and a full 60 minutes with no letdowns; we believe we will be in this game."

UMF is led by the senior quartet of attacker Abbey Gilbert (Wilton, Maine) and midfielders Amie Daniels (Lewiston, Maine), Emma Morrison (Saco, Maine) and Alyssa Neptune (Readfield, Maine). Morrison, an All-NAC East First Teamer in 2011, leads the team with 27 goals, 32 points and 49 draw controls, while Neptune has netted 18 goals, Daniels, the top scorer in program history, has 11 goals and four assists and Gilbert has 10 goals.

"I have been so impressed with the quality of leadership that this year's team has shown," said Wilkie. "Our four seniors have been the people to put the team on their backs when we were struggling. I can't say enough about their effort and the outstanding example they have set for the future of our program."

Newcomer Maddi Kadnar (Belgrade, Maine) has also provided scoring as the freshman in second in goals (14) and the team leader in assists with seven. Morrison and sophomore Molly Carbin (Scarborough, Maine) lead the squad with 39 ground balls each.

Sophomore Hannah Goodenow (Freeport, Maine) has manned the pipes for the Beavers, allowing 12.5 goals per game, while making 106 saves in 10 games. 

The Beavers fell to Castleton 19-6 on April 7 in Farmington. Kate Auer scored five goals and Amanda Flodstrom and Angelica Mazzola each tallied four goals for the Spartans, while UMF was paced by Morrison with four goals.

Auer (37 goals, 10 assists), Flodstrom (35 goals, 14 assists) and Mazzola (32 goals, eight assists) are Castleton's top three scorers followed by Sarah Clark (26 goals, two assists) and Jessica Taplin (18 goals, 12 assists).

Lily Derbyshire has handled the bulk of Castleton's netminding duties with 11 appearances and a 12.19 goals-against average.

In Saturday's other game, New England College is the second seed, finishing 9-8, 5-1, and will host third-seeded Colby-Sawyer (8-7, 4-2) at 4:30 p.m.

Castleton will host the final game Sunday at 5 pm.

The winner of Sunday's championship game will advance to take on the winner of the NAC West Division Tournament on May 5 in Castleton, Vt.