Denison Women's Lacrosse Falls in NCAA Third Round

SALISBURY, MD – No. 6 national-ranked Denison women’s lacrosse fell to No. 22 Christopher Newport, 11-10, in the third round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Saturday.

The Big Red end the 2026 season with an impressive 19-2 overall record after making their eighth-consecutive appearance in the third round and collecting both the NCAC championship crown and the NCAC tournament title. 

CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT 11, DENISON 10
  • The Big Red fell behind 4-1 after the first quarter before mounting a stunning second-quarter rally. After Christopher Newport pushed the lead to 5-1, Denison ripped off five unanswered goals to take a 6-5 lead. Bridget Sheehy (Towson, MD/Towson) got the run started with a man-up free position goal off a feed from Mary Martinson (Concord, NH/Concord), and MK Barnhart (Rehoboth Beach, DE/The Hill School) and Emersen Thompson (Baltimore, MD/Garrison Forest) followed with back-to-back man-down strikes. Finlay Harmon (Towson, MD/Towson) tied the game with an unassisted goal before Maddie Chase (Providence, RI/The Moses Brown School) capped the run with a man-up tally off an Addie Clift (Alexandria, VA/West Potomac) assist with 1:59 remaining in the half.
  • Christopher Newport answered with two quick goals in the closing minute to reclaim a 7-6 halftime lead, and added another early in the third for an 8-6 edge.
  • Denison battled back in the fourth. Martinson cut it to 8-7 on a feed from Sheehy, while Clift answered another Christopher Newport tally with a free-position goal to make it 9-8, and Harmon followed another Captains strike with a goal to pull within 10-9. CNU added a goal with 58 seconds remaining for an 11-9 lead, before Harmon scored again with 16 seconds left to cut the deficit to one, but the Big Red couldn't get the equalizer.
  • Harmon paced the Denison offense with three goals and an assist, while Barnhart finished with a goal and two assists. Sheehy, Martinson and Clift each tallied a goal and an assist, with Chase, Thompson and Madison Goldstein (Lutherville, MD/Roland Park County School) rounding out the scoring. Julianne Henigan (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia) stopped nine shots in net.

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