In the Northeast Conference Tournament, where one bad game can mean the end of the season, the Sacred Heart University women's lacrosse team was determined to leave it all on the field.

And with a 13-7 victory over Monmouth University and an 11-6 win over Quinnipiac University, the Pioneers did just that as they were crowned NEC champions for the second time in two years.

On Friday, April 24, the top-seeded Pioneers took on the #4 seeded Monmouth Hawks at Campus Field.

"The team prepared for the tournament by knowing hard work and determination is needed to win it," said junior Cori Horelik. "We were here last year and we had the skill and heart to win the championship then and were looking to do it again this year."

It was the Hawks who struck first on Friday when junior Megan Brennan scored a goal from 8 meters out.

It didn't take long for the Pioneers to strike back, however, as seniors Mary Montesarchio and Amanda Williams both found the back of the net, making the score 2-1.

The Hawks returned the favor and tied the score when junior Shawn Evans capitalized, followed by a goal from junior Carissa Franzi to make the score 3-2 in favor of Monmouth.

Just 32 seconds later, Williams found Montesarchio open who then fired a shot past Monmouth's goalkeeper tying the score.

Freshman teammates Alicia Fuchs and Kate Kmiotek both capitalized in the open field extending the Pioneers' lead to 5-3.

With 15:15 left in the first half, Monmouth ended the Pioneer run when Brennan tacked on her second goal of the day.

The Pioneers went on the attack in the final minutes of the half and scored four-straight goals. Junior Cori Horelik started the rally followed by Williams, Hauser, and Montesarchio who tacked on her third goal of the day. The score was 9-4 at the half.

"We had a plan and we were following it point for point which allowed us to be even more successful scoring wise and gave us more of a cushion which was a good feeling," said junior Heather Jones.

From the start of the second half, Monmouth put pressure on the Pioneer defense as the duo of Brennan and Evans each found the net and cut the lead to 9-6.

With 16:00 left in the game, the Pioneers answered back to end the Hawks' run. Hauser ripped a shot from 8 meters that soared past the Hawks' goalkeeper.

Shortly after, Williams found open field and tacked on an unassisted goal to increase the lead to 11-6.

Before the game ended, Hauser made sure to put the nails in the coffin by adding two more goals, giving the Pioneers a 13-7 win.

The win propelled the Pioneers into the NEC Championship Game that would take place on Sunday at Campus Field. The Pioneers were to face the #2 seed Quinnipiac in the title tilt.

"We weren't more excited because of them being our rival, but more so because we played them last year in the finals and we knew we had to get fired up to beat them because they were going to be even more fired up to play us for revenge," said junior Farra Coppola.

As the game began, each team was playing aggressively on offense and defense. But a few costly errors by the Pioneers allowed the Bobcats to get on the board first when Quinnipiac senior Ashley Valentine fired a shot past junior goalkeeper Chelsea Wagner just ten minutes into the game.

With the Bobcats applying constant pressure on Williams and Montesarchio, this allowed an opportunity for Horelik who scored the first Pioneer goal of the day.

In the following three minutes, the Pioneers scored three more times to increase their lead to 4-1. Among the scorers were Hauser, Horelik, and Williams.

"Knowing how fired up [Quinnipiac] was to beat us after last year's championship game, there was naturally a higher level of intensity on their side and we knew we had to match it," said Jones.

Though Quinnipiac got on the scoreboard first in the second half with a goal from Brittany Hauser, the Pioneers did not allow the Bobcats to score for 18 minutes and began capitalizing on their opportunities.

Montesarchio was the first to strike and started a five-goal rally for the Pioneers. Along with Montesarchio, Williams added two goals and Horelik collected her third of the day, before Montesarchio ended the rally with another goal of her own. This gave the Pioneers a commanding 9-3 lead.

"The fact that it was the championship game really made me feel like I had to step up to score more because the defense was more worried about other key players," said Horelik. "They were not expecting me to come up with the most goals for this game." said Horelik.

Valentine ended the rally by adding her third goal of the game the 9:03 mark, but it was Horelik who took over from here. She added two more goals in the final minutes of the game to put the Bobcats out of contention, making the final score 11-6.

"Winning the championship was for these three seniors," said Horelik. "They are role models and incredible players that we couldn't have won two championships without."

Horelik ended the game with a career-high five goals which earned her a spot on the NEC All-Tournament Team. Joining her were Williams, Wagner, and junior Jackie Pierce. Montesarchio was named the NEC Tournament's MVP.

"Winning the championship was an awesome feeling," said Jones. "Just knowing all the hard work and sacrifice that you put in from September until this point makes the victory that much sweeter."

The Pioneers advance to the NCAA Play-In Game against the MAAC champions Fairfield University Stags. The game will take place on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Fairfield University.