@SMC_WLAX on Twitter
Former Saint Michael's goalkeeping standout Sandy Palumbo '12 enters her sixth season as a women's lacrosse assistant coach in 2018.
The Purple and Gold, who saw three players miss the season due to injury, went 3-4 down the stretch in 2017, with three of those setbacks to nationally-ranked squads, including narrow losses of 12-7 to No. 12 University of New Haven and 12-8 at No. 18 Stonehill College. Saint Michael's fell by four goals or fewer four times while missing the Northeast-10 Conference's final postseason spot by two games. Purple Knights handed off 49 assists during the season, their most since the 2008 campaign.
Beset by injuries in 2016, the Purple Knights employed 11 players in their first season as active members of the program, while many veterans held critical roles for the first time. While six of their losses came against nationally-ranked teams, the Purple Knights were tied with 18th-ranked Stonehill until a little more than a minute remained in an 8-7 loss on April 22 and trailed No. 17 Bentley University by one with less than two minutes left in a 10-8 setback five days later.
In 2015, the Purple and Gold made its first NE-10 Championship appearance since 2008, winning its last three regular-season games to earn a postseason berth before falling in the quarterfinals against defending NCAA Tournament champion Adelphi University, which later repeated. At 6-9 overall, Saint Michael's matched its highest win total since 2008. The Purple Knights' 6-7 mark in NE-10 play left them one shy of a school record for league wins. They excelled in numerous facets, matching their highest goal (137) and point (178) totals since 2008, snagging the most draw controls (197) since 2010, and recording their second-lowest goals-against average in nine seasons. Among all NE-10 squads, Saint Michael's was third in draw control margin (+2.8).
The Purple Knights had their highest win total in six seasons during the spring of 2014. Saint Michael's also touted its best goals-against average (9.79) in 11 years and its highest assists figure in six seasons while kicking off the campaign 4-0, its best start in 15 springs. Against the teams that ultimately claimed the No. 3 through 6 seeds in the NE-10 Championship, the Purple and Gold yielded an average of 9.5 goals. Saint Michael's was sixth in the NE-10 in GAA.
During her first year as a college coach in 2013, Palumbo helped the Purple Knights post the program's highest win total since 2008. Saint Michael's began the year 4-5, standing 10th in Division II in caused turnovers at that point.
Palumbo, who graduated with a degree in biology in 2012, made 549 saves during her 51-game career, turning in a .458 save percentage. In her final three years combined, she appeared in net for all but 207:40 of her team's contests. Palumbo served as a captain during her senior season. In June 2013, she helped a team from USA Athletes International (USAAI) win the Berlin Open, Europe's largest lacrosse tournament, while representing her home country. Summer 2016 saw her return to Europe with USAAI as an assistant coach during the Great Britain Invasion tournament. Among the team's four opponents was the Scottish National Team, which USAAI defeated in overtime.
