SMITHFIELD, R.I. – In the Northeast Conference semifinals, the No. 4 seed LIU women's lacrosse team took on No. 1 seeded Bryant, falling 20-6 to the Bulldogs on Thursday afternoon.
 
The Sharks had an uphill battle, playing against Bryant's Kenna Kaut, the NEC Offensive Player of the Year, but it turned out that the Bulldogs were firing on all cylinders both defensively and offensively. The Bulldogs kept LIU scoreless in the first quarter while scoring six of their own.
 
Goalkeeper Hailey Duchnowski was the backing force for the Sharks on the afternoon, making 17 saves throughout the matchup. The Bulldogs were efficient in scoring though despite Duchnowski's performance, firing 37 total shots and scoring 20 goals from those shots.
 
Bryant had a commanding 12-3 lead over the Sharks at halftime, but when LIU came out of the locker rooms and scored two in a row to start the third quarter to bring the game to 12-5 it looked like the momentum had shifted. The Bulldogs managed to regain control though, holding LIU to just one more goal in the fourth quarter while tacking on three more in the third and five more in the fourth to win the contest 20-6.
 
Sophomore Jen Gaffney and junior Hannah Kenneally each had a pair of goals for LIU on the afternoon.