NEWMAC women's lacrosse postseason action kicked off on Saturday afternoon with three first-round games. No. 2 seed Springfield hosted no. 7 seed Salve Regina, defeating the Seagulls 14-3; no. 3 seed MIT faced No. 7 seed Wheaton (Mass.) and held down the fort with a 23-5 victory; no. 4 seed Coast Guard defeated no. 5 seed Smith in a low-scoring 11-6 game.

Coast Guard will travel to no. 1 seed Babson, while Springfield will host MIT. Both games will be decided on Wednesday, May 1st, with start times yet to be decided. GAME TIMES BELOW

GAME ONE: Springfield 14, No. 7 Salve Regina
The Seahawks had their first season in the NEWMAC end with an 11-7 record.  Springfield, now 15-3, advances to the NEWMAC Championship Semifinals and will host MIT on Wednesday evening at 6 pm.  This marks just the fourth time in school history that the Springfield College women's lacrosse team has reached 15 wins in a season.

Sarah Newton (Colchester, Conn.) posted a team-best four points on two goals and two assists, while Karen Joy (South Windsor, Conn.) added two goals and a helper and Arielle Johnson (Pomfret, Conn.) notched two assists and a goal. Haley Moody (Wells, Maine) was credited with 10 saves in a game where Springfield owned a 43-16 advantage in shots.  The Pride was dominant on the draws, winning 17 on the day, five of which were by Maddie Roy (Wilbraham, Mass.).  Salve Regina turned the ball over 23 times in the setback, with Hannah Hibbert (Center Harbor, N.H.) accounting for four caused turnovers. 

For Salve Regina, Ellee Kopecky (Warren, R.I.) was tremendous in goal, producing 18 saves, while Edie Threshie (Stratford, Conn.) netted two goals.

Springfield set the tone to start the game, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the opening 4:36 of the game after Hibbert caused a turnover and raced 40 yards to bury an unassisted strike to force Salve into a timeout.  Lilly Vey (Foxboro, Mass.) would give the Pride a 5-0 lead to close out the first quarter after she finished a feed from Joy, and goals from Vey and Johnson in the second quarter made it a 7-0 halftime cushion for the Pride. 

After Salve Regina opened up the scoring to start the second half at the 11:48 mark, Springfield responded with the next five goals, as Samantha Andresen (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) ripped a powerplay, free-position strike with 11:14 remaining in regulation.  The Seahawks would get as close at 12-3 with 6:52 on the clock, but Roy and Newton tacked on the final two goals of the game inside the final six-plus minutes to close out the scoring.

GAME TWO: MIT 23, Wheaton 5
Sophomore Monica Petulla (Natick, Mass.) opened the scoring after 58 seconds elapsed and then Ellie Rabenold (Cincinnati, Ohio) increased MIT's lead 38 seconds later. Wheaton responded with goals by Abigail Mountain (Niantic, Conn.) and Logan Truluck (Bath, Maine), tying the game at the 8:09 mark. Just over two minutes, an unassisted goal from first-year Jillian Butler (Brecksville, Ohio) kicked off a string of six straight goals by the Engineers. Butler produced a hat trick during the scoring burst, followed by two goals from sophomore Nina Petulla (Natick, Mass.), and one by Petulla.
 
MIT continued to pull away as it outscored the Lyons, 6-1, in the second stanza en route to a 14-3 halftime advantage. Junior Julianne Flusche (Ridgewood, N.J.) registered two goals and one assist while sophomore Ashley Thomas (Summit, N.J.) posted one goal and two assists, both on strikes by Rabenold. A free-position goal by Lara Finnie (Westfield, Mass.) ended Wheaton's scoring drought with 2:19 left in the frame.
 
Rabenold was a factor in all five of the Engineers' goals in the third quarter as she scored twice and earned assists on blasts by Thomas and first-year Laura Day (Saybrook, Conn.). Smart buried a free-position shot for the visitors' lone goal which came with 3:59 on the clock.
 
The Engineers closed out the game with four consecutive goals, including back-to-back strikes by Petulla. Avonlea Lebeau (North Branford, Conn.) netted the final goal of the day with Smart earning the assist.

GAME THREE: Coast Guard 11, Smith 6
The Bears put up the first two points of the game, coming from Abby McAllister (Pleasantville, N.Y.) at the 9:34 mark and Kira Howard (Wilton, Conn.) just 40 seconds later. The Pioneers got one back with less than eight to go, but the Bears got it back with a goal by Howard.

With a little under three minutes to go in the first, Smith tied it up at three, heading into the second quarter. 

Neither team found the back of the net for much of the second 15. CGA scored the only two goals, the first coming with less than four to go in the half off of Laine Weber (Granite Bay, Calif.) and the second with 48 seconds remaining, scored by Aislinn Murray (Annapolis, Md.).

Heading into the break, Coast Guard was holding a 5-3 lead. 

Smith scored the opening goal of the second half, but Coast Guard came alive and scored four unanswered before the end of the third. Going into the final 15, CGA was up, 9-4. 

Each team had a pair of goals in the last quarter, Coast Guard holding off Smith to claim the 11-6 victory. 

Howard led both teams in goals with four and had two assists. McAllister led in assists with three. Maici Mintchwarner (Cream Ridge, N.J.) recorded 12 saves for the Bears.

About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (football), Simmons College (rowing), SUNY Maritime College (football), and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (football), while sponsoring 20 sports.