The No. 8 Boston University women's lacrosse team sealed a fourth straight trip to NCAA tournament on Saturday, posting a 15-3 victory over Sacred Heart in an NCAA Play-In Game at Nickerson Field. Junior Sarah Dalton had a seven-point afternoon, posting five goals and two assists to help the Terriers match a program record with their 14th straight victory while improving to 17-2 on the season.

Despite shutting out the Pioneers in the first half, BU scored just five goals before the break but took a 9-0 lead less than seven minutes into the latter half. The Pioneers got on the board with 21:54 left in regulation, but the Terriers reeled off three goals in a span of 97 seconds to take a commanding 12-1 advantage before securing the victory.

Sophomore Traci Landy found the back of the net three times and junior Steph Walker had a hand in three goals, scoring twice in the early stages before adding an assist on the Terriers' first goal of the second half. Freshman Rachel Collins also recorded a pair of goals and an assist.

Freshman Molly Swain had the first multi-point game of her career, tallying a goal and an assist, while senior co-captain Lauren Morton and sophomore Jenny Taft each scored one goal apiece. Sophomores McKinley Curro and Xan Weitzel were each credited with one assist.

Sophomore Rachel Klein recorded seven saves in goal for the Terriers, while sophomore goalkeeper Chelsea Wagner made 15 stops for the Pioneers, who will finish their season with a record of 12-8.

The game was a match-up of the America East Conference and Northeast Conference champions, as one of eight automatic NCAA berths was on the line. BU will be making its sixth appearance in the national tournament.

The 2008 NCAA Championship bracket will be announced on Monday (May 5) exclusively on CBS College Sports Tonight, airing on the CBS College Sports Network between 7:00-8:00 p.m.

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BOSTON, Mass. (May 3, 2008) – Sacred Heart sophomore goalkeeper Chelsea Wagner (Aurora, CO) tied her season-high with 15 saves but the #6 ranked Boston University offense proved too much as the Terriers posted a 15-3 win Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Play-In game. The Pioneers finish the 2008 season with a 12-8 record, a school record for wins in a season.

The nationally ranked Terriers (18-2) held a 14-5 edge on shots in the first half, putting five in the back of the cage by the half. The Pioneers were able to keep it a five-goal half thanks in most part to their defense and some solid play from Wagner who made eight saves over the first 30 minutes.

BU got on the board to open the scoring at 26:24 on an unassisted Sarah Dalton goal followed by back-to-back markers by Steph Walker at 25:02 and 23:11. SHU kept the Terriers off the scoreboard until the 15:24 mark before Molly Swain but one on the board followed by Dalton's second to close out the first half scoring.

The Pioneers (12-7) best scoring chance in the first half came on a pair of 8meter free position shots by junior Meghan McCaffrey (Garden City, NY) and senior Alyssa Harris (Kings Park, NY). BU goalie Rachel Klein stopped McCaffrey while Harris beat the Terrier goalkeeper but her shot banged of the right post.

The Terriers opened the second half tacking on four-straight in the first seven minutes to take a 9-0 lead and take command. The Pioneer offense finally cracked the Terrier defense at the 21:54 mark as senior Katie Salamone (Baltimore, MD) took a pass out front and dodged a pair of BU defenders and fired a shot past Klein. BU made it an 11-goal lead with just over 19 minutes to go but SHU's freshman standout Jessica Ingrilli (Wantagh, NY) put the Pioneers back on the board.

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2008-05-03