Canton, NY – North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Tournament Most Valuable Player Samantha Dayter posted 13 points on nine goals and four assists to lead the SUNY Canton women's lacrosse team to their third NAC Championship in program history with a 20-14 win over visiting Husson University on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Roos have earned the NAC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse championship. The selection show will take place on Monday, May 8th at 10:30 a.m. on NCAA.com.
 
THE BASICS 

• Result: SUNY Canton 20, Husson 14      
• Location: SUNY Canton Turf – Canton, NY
• Records: SUNY Canton (10-7) | Husson (10-5)

 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 

• The teams exchanged goals early on as Canton led 3-2 with 3:36 left in the opening quarter. Dayter scored the first three goals for the Roos, while Sophia Gomez tallied twice for Husson.
• Averi Baker knotted things at three apiece with 2:55 to play in the opening quarter, but Dayter scored her fourth of the game just over 30 seconds later and Maddy Caron caged her 56th and 57th goals of the season as Canton took a 6-3 lead after the opening quarter.
• The second stanza proved decisive in the outcome of the game as the Roos were firing on all cylinders outscoring the Eagles 9-3 in the period. After an early Baker goal for Husson, Canton rattled off the next seven scores that included three from Morgan Montgomery and one each from Casey Pelton, Lindsey Wunder, Caron and Dayter as the Roos opened a 13-4 lead with 6:08 left in the opening half.
• The hosts would extend their halftime lead to 15-5 as Montgomery added her fourth goal of the quarter and Caron put home her fourth of the half.
• Husson outscored the hosts 3-1 in the third quarter to get within 16-9 after 45 minutes of play.
• The Eagles would trim the deficit to 17-11 early in the fourth quarter but six goals were as close as they would come in the 20-14 final.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Dayter led all players with 13 points, nine goals and four assists, while adding seven draw controls as she went 5-for-7 on free-position shots. The nine goals from Dayter set a new career-high and tied the program record for goals in a game set by Robyn Carroll on March 19, 2016 v. King's. Caron posted a game-high 13 draw controls to go with five goals. Montgomery produced four goals, all in the key second quarter spurt.
• Wunder added a goal and two assists, while Pelton recorded a goal and assist. Emily Vogt tied a game-high with five ground balls and caused a game-best three turnovers. Maddy Thompson also picked up five ground balls for the Roos defensively.  
• Baker paced Husson with six goals and one assist, while Gomez added five goals and an assist.
• Dayter was named the Tournament's MVP with 12 goals and six assists on the weekend, while Caron, Montgomery and Vogt earned spots on the All-Tournament Team.
• Olivia Scott turned aside 13 shots in her ninth win of the season. With her 13 saves she set a new single-season saves mark for the Roos (160) breaking the previous mark set by Becca Kieffer '17 (155) in the 2015 season. 
• With Caron's 13 draw controls she breaks the Roos single-season record and now has 122. The previous mark was set by Dayter with 113 last season.
• Emily Godfrey made eight saves allowing 15 goals in the first half in the loss for Husson, while Emma Begin made six stops allowing five scores after halftime.
• Canton held the upper hand in shots on goal (34-27), draw controls (25-12) and ground balls (18-16). The Roos were 7-for-10 on free-position shots, while Husson finished 5-for-13.

 
 
All-Tournament Team
MVP: Samantha Dayter – SUNY Canton
Maddy Caron – SUNY Canton
Morgan Montgomery – SUNY Canton
Emily Vogt – SUNY Canton
Sophia Gomez – Husson
Devyn Veits – Husson
Jory Boyd – Husson
Hazel Stoddard – Maine Maritime
Kirra Magaña – Maine Maritime
Anna Chadwick – Thomas
Scarlett Raymond-Ayer – Thomas
 
 
WHAT'S NEXT? 
The Roos have now won their third NAC championship in program history, all since joining the conference in 2019. The team will make its third NCAA Division III Tournament with the NAC's automatic qualifier. The Roos will find out their destiny in the NCAA selection show on Monday (5/8) morning at 10:30 a.m. on NCAA.com.
 
   

About SUNY Canton
As Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificate programs, SUNY Canton delivers quality hands-on programs in digital design, engineering technology, health, management and public service. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. As SUNY's leader in online education, SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as 23 online degree programs. The college placed first in 14 categories in a SUNY-Wide Student Opinion Survey, most notably in career services, tutoring, library resources, and classroom facilities. The SUNY Canton Kangaroos 15 traditional athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division III level as part of the North Atlantic Conference. SUNY Canton also features varsity esports and cheerleading.