Mia Basile Leads Merrimack to Semis with 24-11 Win over Bentley

NORTH ANDOVER, MA – Mia Basile scored seven first-half goals, as the fourth-seed Merrimack women’s lacrosse team advanced to the Northeast-10 Semifinals with a 24-11 victory over fifth-ranked Bentley University in the NE-10 Quarterfinals Tuesday at Warrior Field.

With the win, Merrimack (8-7) will battle top-ranked New Haven Saturday at 1 p.m. in New Haven, Connecticut. The loss ends the season for the Falcons, who dropped to 9-9 with the loss.

The Warriors took an early 6-2 lead behind goals from four different players, including three from Mia Basile. They led 16-8 at halftime, behind seven first-half goals from Mia Basile, and two each from Lauren Leddy, Kelly Pasquantonio, and Maddie Basile.

Merrimack scored on its first seven shots and 16 of its 21 shots-on-goal in the first 30 minutes.

The hosts continued their offensive success in the second, scoring three times in a 1:29 span in the first 3:32 of the final half, with Leddy netting two of them to push the lead to 19-8. Mary Pasquantonio added back-to-back unassisted goals midway through the second half, her 17th and 18th of the season.

Mia Basile finished with eight goals, one shy of tying the all-time school record for goals in a game. Leddy netted five goals in the win, giving her 38 on the season. Kelly Pasquantonio scored four times and dished out three assists. Maria DeStefano dominated the draw controls, especially in the first half, and finished with six in the game.

Jamie-Lee Whiteway was sharp in net, stopping 13 shots.

Alyssa Ritchie scored three goals and four points in her final collegiate game, giving the senior 63 goals this season and 328 career points, two shy of the all-time conference record for career points.