FAIRFIELD, Conn.— The Sacred Heart University women's lacrosse team is heading to the Northeast Conference Championship after defeating the fourth seed Saint Francis University, 12-6, in the semifinal at home on Thursday afternoon. Graduate student Lydia Werlau tallied five goals to lead the Pioneers in the victory. SHU will make its first championship appearance since 2010. 

Records:
Sacred Heart: 10-7 (8-0 NEC)
SFU: 10-6 (5-3 NEC)

Top Performances:
Lydia Werlau: 5 goals
Emma Kittredge: 4 goals
Grace Reinold: 1 goal, 1 assist
Shae Insinga: 1 goal, 1 assist

Goalkeepers:
Lisa Martin: 8 saves, (8-2)

Of Note:
The Pioneers did not wait long to get things started as they fired three straight goals, including two from Werlau, within the opening four minutes to take a 3-0 lead. Lizzy Fisher scored twice to bring Saint Francis within one, 3-2, but Sacred Heart answered with another three goals to take a 7-2 lead after the first quarter.

Kittredge and Shae Insinga scored the opening two tallies of the second quarter to extend the Pioneers lead to 8-2. The Red Flash scored back-to-back goals to cut their deficit in half, 8-4. Grace Reinold put away her lone goal of the game with 48 seconds to go in the second quarter to give Sacred Heart a 9-4 advantage at the half.

Saint Francis outscored the Pioneers 2-1 in the third quarter, but SHU held a 10-6 lead heading into the fourth.

The Pioneers added two more scores in the final quarter and shut out the Red Flash for a 12-6 to punch their ticket to the Northeast Conference Championship.

Sacred Heart outshot Saint Francis 31-16, and both teams collected 11 draw controls each.

The Pioneers sophomore goalkeeper Lisa Martin made eight saves to backstop the Pioneers in the win.

Up Next:
Sacred Heart will host the second seed, Wagner College in the NEC Championship on Saturday, May 6th at 1:00 PM on Campus Field.