For the first time since 2005, the Siena women's lacrosse program will partake in the MAAC Championship game as they defeated the second-seeded Monmouth Hawks by a final score of 16-15 after trailing by as many as six goals in the first half. With the win, the Green and Gold have now set a new program record in single-season victories with their 12th win of the season, and will face #1 seed Fairfield in the MAAC Championship game at 12 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Nicole McNeely would have the standout performance for the Saints, as she tallied a team-high seven points on three goals and four assists. McNeely also stepped up in the draw, snagging four draw controls. Freshman Mary Soures also snagged a hat trick, scoring three goals and adding an assist for four points. Junior captain Annie Brennan also scored a trio of goals, while Julia Pelcher, Hayley Kmack, and Kerry Gerety each scored a pair of goals as well. Senior Sammy Horton made eight saves in net for the Green and Gold in the win. Leading Monmouth was a five-goal night from Allison Turturro, while Jenny Staines scored a four-point game with three goals and an assist. Rachel Mills and Nicole Ceraso each scored twice, as Stephanie Dellituri was hit with the loss, making three saves in the second half. Pelcher got the ball rolling early on, as she scored the first and third goals for the Saints. However, Monmouth would be the agressors for much of the first half, as they would take a 9-3 lead with 9:29 left in the frame. Despite some offense from Soures and Gerety to cut into the lead, Monmouth continued to answer and lead 11-6 with 2:02 to play in the first half. Then things would turn in the Saints favor at the end of the first, as Kmack scored her first of the night on a dish from McNeely to make things 11-7. Then after the ensuing draw control was won by the Hawks, Soures forced a Monmouth turnover and won the ground ball up the sideline in Hawk territory. She then curled behind the net, found McNeely in front of the net for the score as time expired to send the Saints into the half only down three goals. The play would turn out to be the big turnaround point for the Saints, as it didn't take long for the Saints to rattle off another six goals to begin the second half to cap an 8-0 run as Brennan scored an unassisted goal to take the 14-11 lead. Siena would ultimately hold the Hawks scoreless for the first 14 minutes of the first half, as Logan Smet broke the streak with a goal at the 16:16 mark to bring Monmouth back within two, at 14-12. Soures would step up once again, making the final two goals for the Saints at the 15:09 mark and 10:06 marks in the second half. Her last goal gave Siena a 16-13 lead heading into the home stretch. The Saints would not score in the final 10 minutes of play, while holding Monmouth scoreless as well until the 1:10 mark to play. Sarah Gillogly scored to pull within two, followed by a goal from Allison Turturro to cut the Saints lead to one with 15 seconds remaining. Junior and All-MAAC First Team selection Therese Pitman would step up and seal the deal on the next draw, snagging the draw control and sending the Saints home with the victory. Siena won the battle on shots, with a 33-28 output advantage, including a 22-10 mark in the second half. Both teams turned the ball over 12 times, with Monmouth winning at the draw 17-14. However, the Saints went 2-for-3 on free positions and were 12 of 15 in clear attempts.