LOWELL, Mass. – A dominant team effort from start-to-finish with a goal and an assist each by Marissia Cicione and Frances Carstens led No. 18 Stanford to a 4-1 win over UNH in the America East Finals to claim back-to-back conference championships and send the Cardinal to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year.
The Cardinal (13-7) came out in the first half for one of its best performances of the year, dominating from start to finish with six shots, four of them ringing true. The first strike came off a corner that Katie Keyser set for Frances Carstens, who passed a perfect ball for Corinne Zanolli to finish. Marissa Cicione struck next on a breakaway beating three UNH defenders and the GK for a shot to the back right of the cage.
Stanford refused to leave the Wildcats defensive end in the half as tournament MVP Sarah Helgeson sent a pass across the circle that Carstens put perfectly on frame to make it 3-0. Jessica Welch also added her first goal of the season on a scrappy play by the cage that Cicione snuck a ball across that Welch finished to make it 4-0 at the half.
The Cardinal continued to control the tempo throughout most of the second half, but UNH stepped up to start pressing on offense more with 18 shots to force Kelsey Bing to make five saves and preserve the shutout. UNH was able to add one to the scoreboard as time had elapsed after a penalty stroke was awarded to the Wildcats that Ashley Mendonca put past Maddy Belin to close out the game.
The Cardinal will await its NCAA Tournament opponent after the selection show Sunday night.