BALTIMORE –
Livy Rosenzweig had a team-high five points while breaking the program's scoring record,
Kaitlyn Larsson made 11 key stops in goal and Loyola University Maryland continued its mastery of the Patriot League with an 11-6 victory over Lehigh in Saturday's conference final at Ridley Athletic Complex.
The Greyhounds (11-2) earn their fifth Patriot League title in seven years since joining the conference, and they clinch a ninth NCAA tournament appearance in the last 10 seasons under head coach
Jen Adams.
All five points for Rosenzweig (4 G, 1 A) came in the first half, as Loyola raced out to a 9-3 advantage at the intermission before closing out the win with a more deliberate pace over the final 30 minutes. With her fourth point of the afternoon, an unassisted goal with 1:58 left before halftime, she passed former teammate Hannah Powers for the program's all-time points lead. Rosenzweig, announced afterwards as Tournament MVP, is now at 319 points (143 G, 176 A) through 60 collegiate games.
Larsson was outstanding in goal throughout the afternoon, as she made five stops in the first half and another six after the break to prevent the Mountain Hawks (9-4) from building any sustained momentum on offense. Her 11-save total was her second-highest output of the season, and it was backed by a .647 save percentage.
Elli Kluegel and
Emily Wills each added three goals for Loyola, which extended its winning streak to 11-consecutive games. The Mountain Hawks lost for just the second time in 11 contests, with both defeats in that stretch coming to the Greyhounds.
Loyola had another strong day in the draw circle, winning 13 of 19 draw controls overall to maintain a consistent advantage in possession throughout.
Jillian Wilson led the way with six draws, while
Katie Detwiler had four and Rosenzweig finished with three.
Detwiler also picked up a career-high six ground balls, the most by any Greyhound this season. She was joined by Rosenzweig, Kluegel and Larsson as Loyola's representatives on the All-Tournament Team.
Lehigh got as close as 10-6 on the last of three goals by Sondra Dickey with 8:59 remaining. The Greyhounds shutdown the visitors the rest of the way, with
Sydni Black adding an insurance tally with 5:47 left on the clock.
Loyola improves to 69-2 against Patriot League opponents since joining the conference in 2014, and the Greyhounds have held opponents to single digit scoring in 9 of 11 games during their current winning streak.
Next up is the NCAA Tournament, which begins with first round matchups next Friday. This year's selection show will air on ESPNU at 9 p.m. tomorrow night. Loyola has one at least one game in seven of its eight appearances since Adams took over as head coach in 2009.
Gallery: (5-8-2021) No. 9 Women's Lacrosse vs. Lehigh (PL Final)