Women's: Lacrosse teams end season, miss out on SUNYACs

The College at Brockport women's lacrosse team had a season that was a tale of two halves. Through the first seven games, the Golden Eagles (5-9 overall, 5-4 SUNYAC) couldn't catch any breaks, and lost all seven decisions. Over the last seven games, however, the Golden Eagles showed how good they could be, going 5-2 over that stretch. The second half surge provided a glimpse into a promising future for the Golden Eagles.

Over the last seven games, the Brockport offense exploded for their four highest scoring games of the season, including a school record-tying 23 goals against SUNY Morrisville. The offensive fireworks were spearheaded by two freshmen, Carly Motondo and Dayna Piraino.

Motondo led the Golden Eagles with 26 assists, along with scoring 32 goals, while Piraino notched 29 goals and 20 assists. With a season under their belts, big things can be expected of these two emerging powerhouses.

A couple of veterans made sure the greenhorns didn't get all of the attention. Graduate student Julia Decker's last season was a memorable one. She led the Golden Eagles with 41 goals in addition to handing out 14 assists, and was only the second player in school history to eclipse the 200-point mark. Decker finished her career by scoring seven goals in a 19-16 Golden Eagle victory over SUNY Oswego. Decker's career ended with her in second place all-time in both goals and points.

Melissa Hill also had a strong season, scoring 37 goals. In addition to being an offensive force, Hill's strong play on the draw, helped get the Golden Eagle offense kick started.

Jamie Kaminski and the Brockport defense played better down the stretch, as well. In the second-to-last game of the season against SUNY Potsdam, the defense played what head coach Stephanie Walker called their best game of the year. In that game, the Golden Eagles went nearly 30 minutes without allowing a goal.

Kaminski played every game in goal, amassing 151 saves. With the entire defense returning next year, games like Potsdam should be the norm.

The Golden Eagles should be among the favorites to win the SUNYAC championship next year as the only player they lose will be Decker. Karen Bianchi will be ready to pick up the scoring slack from the loss of Decker. Bianchi scored 20 goals this year, and Lindsey Cayea had six goals and 15 assists.

The continued emergence of the youngsters coupled with the experienced starters, should equal great things for the Golden Eagles in 2010.