NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Mary and Kelly Pasquantonio combined for seven goals and four assists to lead ninth-ranked Merrimack College to a 21-17 Northeast-10 women's lacrosse victory over Southern New Hampshire University Saturday afternoon at Warrior Field.  The Warriors improve to 11-2 overall and 9-2 in the NE-10, while the Penmen are now 8-7 and 7-4 in the league.

Both teams will be in action in the first round of the Northeast-10 Tournament that kicks off Wednesday.  Merrimack, the No. 3 seed, will host No. 6 seed New Haven, while the Penmen have earned the No. 5 seed and will travel to fourth-seeded Bentley.  Game times for those games will be announced in the near future.  SNHU fell to Bentley 22-16 in overtime in a game played this past Wednesday (Apr. 28).

Mary Pasquantonio led Merrimack with four goals and three assists, while Kelly added three goals and an assist.  Alicia Tinsley also finished with three goals for the Warriors, while Christina McCarron and Colleen Strachan added two goals apiece.

Emily Mongeau (Westboro, Mass.) led Southern New Hampshire with a career-best seven goals, while Carole Lee (Derry, N.H.) registered three goals and an assist.  Sherry Darrell (Bow, N.H.) had two goals and three assists, while Jami Shugrue (Lowell, Mass.) added two goals and two assists.  Maura Murphy (Candia, N.H.) recorded two goals and an assist while Jade Antonangeli (Bourne, Mass.) finished with a goal and an assist.

Hannah Moriarty (Chelmsford, Mass.) turned aside a single-game school record 25 shots for Southern New Hampshire in goal as the Warriors outshot the Penmen 58-39.  Jamie-Lee Whiteway made 14 saves in goal for Merrimack.

Merrimack led 12-7 at halftime and took a 15-9 lead 3:52 into the second half on a Kelly Pasquantonio free position shot.  The Penmen trailed 17-12 with just under 21 minutes to play when they ran off four straight goals to pull within one, 17-16, with 12:31 to go on a Mongeau tally.  Meredith Prior would stop the run with a Warrior goal 56 seconds later, and Kelly Pasquantonio made it 19-16 with just over nine minutes left.

Darrell would make it 19-17 with 6:34 to go, but Mary Pasquantonio would convert a free position just 24 seconds later, and Strachan added a goal with 1:16 remaining.

Southern New Hampshire scored the first three goals of the game, with Mongeau making it 3-0 8:20 into the contest.  Merrimack scored the next five goals to take a 5-3 lead before a two straight Penmen goals tied the game 5-5 with 12:35 left on a Mongeau tally.  The two teams traded the next two goals, but the hosts scored six of the final seven goals of the first half and opened a 12-7 halftime lead.