THROGGS NECK, NY – For the first time in program history, the Maritime College women's lacrosse team will be playing for the Skyline Conference championship!  The top-seeded Privateers (13-3) advanced to their first-ever Skyline Championship Game with an 18-5 semifinal victory over fifth-seeded St. Joseph's LI (7-7) at Reinhart Field on Thursday.

Just five days after an overtime loss to these same Golden Eagles in the regular season finale on Saturday, it took a mere 13 seconds for Maritime to get on the board in the semifinal.  Jenna Lesiewicz (Wading River, NY) won the opening draw and fed Emily Commodore (Tinton Falls, NJ), who put it home to give the Privateers an early lead.  After St. Joseph's LI's Jamie Trowbridge tied the game at the 10:34 mark, Nicole Johnson (Farmingville, NY) scored twice to make it a 3-1 game.  Commodore and Johnson each added another goal, as Maritime ended the opening period with a 5-3 lead.

The Privateers then outscored the Golden Eagles 4-0 in the second quarter to increase their cushion to 9-3.  Emily O'Mara stopped the Maritime scoring run in the opening minute of the third quarter before Johnson found the back of the net twice in a 15-second span to extend the Privateers' lead to 11-4.  Maritime kept coming, scoring four more times in the period, including tallies by Johnson and Lesiewicz 12 seconds apart, to take a 15-4 advantage into the fourth quarter.

In the final period, Commodore added two more scores and Gabrielle Nicolosi (West Islip, NY) converted a free position attempt to extend Maritime's run to nine straight goals.  O'Mara snuck one past Privateer goalkeeper Sarah Malone (Land O'Lakes, FL) with 1:53 left to snap the Golden Eagles' drought and close out the scoring in an 18-5 Maritime victory.

Johnson took seven shots, all of which found the back of the net.  She added two assists to complete a nine-point game, while also notching seven draw controls, five ground balls and two caused turnovers.  Commodore set a career-high with five goals, and Nicolosi finished with four points on two goals and two assists.  Lesiewicz, meanwhile, had a goal and three assists to go along with nine draw controls and two caused turnovers.

Kathryn Sandford (Floral Park, NY) and Kiera Ford (Montgomery, NY) picked up four ground balls apiece, while Sandford also contributed three caused turnovers.  In addition to collecting three ground balls, Malone (1-1) made seven saves.

O'Mara had a hand in three of the Golden Eagles' five goals, scoring twice and assisting on another.  She added three draw controls.  Trowbridge finished with two goals and two draw controls, while Kayleigh Mimnaugh, who tallied four goals on Saturday, was held to one tally in the semifinal.  Goalkeeper Maggie Harding (7-7) led St. Joseph's LI with nine ground balls and three caused turnovers to go along with her eight saves.

Maritime will host second-seeded Merchant Marine (13-2), the defending Skyline champions, in the Championship Game at 12 p.m. on Saturday.  When the squads met on April 18, the Privateers earned a 10-9 victory, which is what gave them home field advantage for the title game.