FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
#1 Lasell 1, #5 Mount Ida 0
NEWTON, Mass. – The Lasell field hockey team is headed to its first-ever Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship after defeating crosstown rival Mount Ida College in overtime, 1-0, on Wednesday afternoon.
Cailin Flannery (Newton, N.J.) was the deciding factor in the semifinal match, knocking in her fourth game-winner of the season in the 72nd minute.
It was a battle between keepers Denise Landry (New Milford, Conn.) and Grace Ryan (Livermore Falls, Maine) for the entirety of regulation, as neither team capitalized on a combined 35 shots. Lasell held a 12-5 advantage in shots on goal, as Ryan posted 11 saves in the setback. Landry turned away all five shots on net from the Mustangs, and heads into her first GNAC championship holding a .857 save percentage, and a 0.86 goals against average.
The Lasers outshot the Mustangs by a landslide 11-2 in the first half, with both Mount Ida shots coming from top-scorer Lexi Minicucci (Westfield, Mass.) in the first four minutes. Minicucci came up big for the visitors in the 29th minute, when Erica Connors (South Berwick, Maine) took a crack on net about five yards out. The ball soared past Ryan's left side, but Minicucci recorded her first defensive save of the season at a most opportune time to keep Lasell at bay.
Roles reversed in the second stanza, as Ida held a slight 11-9 advantage in scoring attempts. Sarah Hemstock (Northford, Conn.) lined up for one of the Mustangs' nine second half corners at 56:50, and dished the ball out to Minicucci. Minicucci lofted the ball into the air to try and put the Mustangs on top, but a completely stretched Landry turned away the senior's attempt, and the 0-0 score held throughout regulation.
In Lasell's only other overtime contest this season, Flannery was again the deciding factor, beating the Pioneers of Western Connecticut in the 82nd minute on October 17th. This time, Flannery and the Lasers needed just two minutes of overtime to put the game away, as the junior evaded a double-mark and blasted the game-winner right corner.
In its best season to date, the 16-3 Lasers will host the No. 2 Monks of Saint Joseph's Maine on Saturday for the Championship. Game time is set for 12:00 p.m. on Grellier, and can be viewed live here .
Courtesy of Lasell Athletics Communications.
#2 Saint Joseph's of Maine 5, #3 Simmons 0
STANDISH, Maine – Sophomore forward Libby Pomerleau (Limerick, Maine) netted two goals with an assist to help #2 Saint Joseph's College (14-5) topple #3 Simmons College (12-7), 5-0, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Semifinal at the SJC Athletics Complex on Wednesday afternoon.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's advances to the GNAC Championship game for the third-consecutive season and will attempt to repeat as conference champs when they play at top-seeded Lasell College in the title bout on Saturday at 12:00 PM. Lasell edged #5 Mount Ida College, 1-0, in overtime in other semifinal action this afternoon.
The Monks defeated the Sharks, 1-0, in the 2016 GNAC Championship to earn the program's first conference crown.
With the loss, Simmons – winners of two of the last three GNAC titles - bows out of the tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks applied plenty of offensive pressure from the get-go and capitalized on the effort when Pomerleau scored her first goal on a deflection off an Arianna Kahler (Lisbon Falls, Maine) shot at the 14:23 mark. The sophomore standout doubled the hosts' advantage 89 seconds later on another tipped Kahler shot.
Juniors Kara and Kayla Kelly (York, Maine) connected in the 34th minute, when Kara scored off a right-to-left pass in the goalmouth.
The 3-0 cushion remained until the 59:05 mark, when senior Hayley Winslow (Falmouth, Maine) potted her sixth goal of the year with Pomerleau earning the assist. Kayla Kelly capped the game-scoring in the 63rd minute with an unassisted strike.
THE KEEPERS:
Saint Joseph's junior Megan Baker (Gorham, Maine) picked up her seventh shutout of the season after making one save over 70 minutes while her counterpart, Simmons freshman Lucy McNamara (Brewster, Mass.), posted 16 saves in the losing effort.
St. Joe's junior Meghan Burke (Falmouth, Mass.) and Simmons freshman Abigail Anderson (South Yarmouth, Mass.) posted a defensive save apiece in the semifinal contest.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's posted considerable advantages in shots (25-4), shots on goal (22-2), and penalty corners (17-5) on the afternoon.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 18-8 in the history of the series with Simmons College and has now defeated the Sharks in four-consecutive meetings. Today's five-goal winning margin is the most recorded by either team in the matchup since the Monks topped the Sharks by the same score on October 25th, 2008.
Courtesy of SJC Athletics Communications.
Saturday, October 28 - First Round
Game 1: #5 Mount Ida 1, #4 Johnson & Wales 0 | BOX
Game 2: #3 Simmons 8, #6 Anna Maria 0 | BOX
Wednesday, November 1 - Semifinals
Game 3: #1 Lasell 1, #5 Mount Ida 0
Game 4: #2 Saint Joseph's of Maine 5, #3 Simmons 0
Saturday, November 4 - Final
Game 5: #2 Saint Joseph's of Maine at #1 Lasell - 12:00 PM
Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.
– #TheGNAC –