LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- Lock Haven punched its ticket to the national semifinals with a dominating 17-6 win against Pfeiffer on Saturday at home in NCAA Division II first-round action.
Lock Haven (18-2), the South Region's No. 2 seed jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back, leading third-seed Pfeiffer (13-5) 10-1 at halftime.
With the win, Lock Haven's 16th in a row, it advances to next weekend's semifinals and will meet Lindendwood in the first of two NCAA semifinal contests next Saturday in Salem, Virginia.
It was a complete team effort today for the Lady Eagles, who dominated every facet of the game.
Jessica Pandolf led the offensive explosion with six goals. Jenna Dingler netted a hat trick, while Chelsea Borrino, Rachel Ward and Jill Murray all scored twice.
Kelly Hamilton and Hope Thomas rounded out the scoring with a goal apiece. Borrino, Hamilton and Shannon Bissnette all recorded two assists.
Lock Haven outshot Pfeiffer 38-17 and held a 25-13 advantage in ground balls.
The Lady Eagles got another tremendous effort from its stingy-defensive unit. Lock Haven allows just 5.59 goals per game and today's shutdown marked the 13th time this season the Lady Eagles have held a team to six or fewer goals.
Individually, goalie Chrissy Baffuto led the charge from the back with arguably her best game of the season. She finished with seven saves, including a pair of point-blank stops midway through the first half.
LHU was credited with 11 caused turnovers, including three from Melinda Wojt. She also had three ground balls as she sparked another effort from Lock Haven's defense that could be described as nothing short of spectacular.
The Lady Eagles opened the scoring just 1:09 into the game on Dingler's 28th goal of the season. Less than five minutes into the contest, it was 3-0 Lock Haven, as Dingler scored two of The Haven's first three goals in the game.
Pfeiffer got on the board with 25:05 left in the first half, but Lock Haven closed the opening period with seven consecutive goals.
The Falcons scored twice in first 4:50 of the second to make it 10-3, but a balanced offensive attack kept LHU rolling to the end.
In the North Region, top-seed Adelphi took down Saint Anselm, 20-6 and No. 2 seed LIU Post dropped New Haven 10-5.
The 2014 NCAA Division II semifinals are set for Saturday May 17 at Donald J. Kerr Stadium in Salem, Virginia. Lock Haven takes on Lindenwood on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET while Adelphi and LIU Post meet at 2 p.m. The championship game is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
