FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The top four seeds held true on Wednesday night as the 2015 GNAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament got underway across the conference. Second-seeded Lasell College kicked off the quarterfinal round with an afternoon victory over seventh-seeded Norwich University, 7-6. Lasell now gets set to host third-seeded Johnson & Wales University on Friday at 3:30 p.m. in the semifinals, after JWU handled sixth-seeded Simmons College, 15-9, Wednesday evening.
Wednesday's two other quarterfinal contests called for larger margins of victory, as top-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine defeated eighth-seeded Rivier University, 21-5, and fourth-seeded Emmanuel College took down fifth-seeded Mount Ida College, 22-6.
2014 GNAC champion Emmanuel will now take on 2015 GNAC regular-season champion Saint Joseph's of Maine on Friday (8:00 p.m.) at Scarborough High School.
Friday's winners will square off at the higher seed on Sunday afternoon in the GNAC championship contest.
#1 SAINT JOSEPH'S 21, #8 RIVIER 5
BATH, Maine - Junior midfielder Kat Gadbois (Scarborough, Maine) scored a career-high eight goals with a pair of assists in the playoff victory. With the triumph, Saint Joseph's – which has now won 15 consecutive games - advances to the second round of the conference tourney for the third season in a row. For Rivier University, the loss signals the end of the 2015 season.
Saint Joseph's jumped out to an early lead, as junior Elizabeth Elcock (Westwood, Mass.) scored off a Gadbois pass just 1:27 into the game and sophomore Kelsey Dumond (Lewiston, Maine) her 24th marker of the season two minutes later, lifting the Royal Blue to a 2-0 cushion with 26:26 remaining in the first half.
The Raiders responded by netting half of the following four goals during the subsequent six minutes, as sophomore midfielder Amanda Wickens (Tyngsboro, Mass.) and junior midfielder Jocelyn Park (Londonderry, N.H.) scored to offset SJC goals potted by Lizzie Calnan (Westport, Mass.) and Elcock, making it a 4-2 game with 20:06 to play in the opening frame.
The conference counterparts traded goals during a seven-minute span, as Gadbois lifted the hosts to a 5-2 lead with her first marker of the evening, scored at the 16:43 mark. Wickens found the back of the cage with a free-position shot with 12:09 left in the first half and Monks junior defender Meghan Williams (Greenland, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas) answered with her sixth tally of the year 15 seconds later. Raiders junior midfielder Paxton LaRocque (Londonderry, N.H.) cut the Raiders' deficit back down to two (6-4) with a man-up goal, which was set up by a Savannah Neuwirt (Newbury, N.H.) at the 9:38 mark.
Rivier would get no closer to the lead however, as the Monks rattled off 15 unanswered goals en route to posting a convincing playoff victory. Gadbois, who kicked off the offensive outburst at the 8:55 mark, scored two while Dumond and freshman Elyse Caiazzo (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) both tickled the twine in the final nine minutes of the first half to provide St. Joe's with a 10-4 advantage heading into intermission.
The scoring barrage continued in the second stanza, as Gadbois netted a pair in the first four minutes and Calnan, Caiazzo and sophomore Jackie Wilson (Tiverton, R.I.) slipped shots past Rivier senior goalie Mackenzie Flagg (Shirley, Mass.) to extend the SJC cushion to 15-4 with 22:53 left.
In the closing 18 minutes, Gadbois scored three times while Caiazzo, Dumond and Calnan added single goals to cap the night's scoring for the Monks. LaRocque broke the Monks' offensive streak and closed out the game scoring with a goal off a Veronica Jones (West Chesterfield, N.H.) pass with 1:45 left, accounting for the 21-5 final.
For the Monks, junior attack Mary Leasure (South Portland, Maine/McAuley) dealt five assists with four ground balls and three caused turnovers, Caiazzo tallied three goals and an assist with seven ground balls and four draw controls, and Wilson contributed a goal and an assist with seven ground balls, 11 draw controls and three caused turnovers in the victory. Dumond and Calnan scored three goals apiece and Elcock added two markers and an assist with three ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.
For the Raiders, LaRocque netted a pair of goals with an assist and three ground balls, Wickens scored twice with three ground balls and three draw controls, and sophomore defender Shae O'Connell (Bridgewater, Mass.) chipped in with three ground balls in the losing effort.
In goal, SJC junior Michelle Cunha (Enfield, Conn.) made a pair of saves while Flagg posted 16 stops for Rivier.
Overall, Saint Joseph's held noticeable advantages in shots (40-12), ground balls (35-23) and draw controls (19-6) while hitting pay dirt on six of nine free-position shots on the evening.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 5-2 in the history of the series with Rivier University and has now defeated the Raiders in four-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2013 campaign.
#4 EMMANUEL 22, #5 MOUNT IDA 6
BOSTON, Mass. – Emmanuel tied its single-game goal record en route to its 22-6 victory over at Roberto Clemente Field. The 22 goals equaled the program's highest total from April 21, 2012 against Rivier University and the 15 goals scored in the first half matched the highest goal total scored in a half, last done on March 21, 2014 vs. Anna Maria. With the win, EC improves to 12-3 on the year and advances to the GNAC Semifinals while the loss caps the Mustangs season at 5-11 overall.
In a highly contested game early on, the Saints scored first to take a 1-0 lead on a goal by junior Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) but Mount Ida answered immediately, tying the game at 1-1 on a tally by sophomore Rebecca Beaulieu (Weare, N.H.). Emmanuel regained the lead at 2-1 on anAmanda Cook (Saco, Maine) goal but the Mustangs responded with a strike by sophomore Nikki Kinnen (Salem, N.H.) to even the score at 2-2 with 23:05 to play in the half.
The Saints took control of the action over the next eight minutes, going on a 4-0 run to open up a 6-2 lead. Senior middie Sarah Wootten (Berlin, Md.) scored two of the goals during the run including the marker at 15:30 to give Emmanuel the four-goal cushion.
Mount Ida junior Samantha Basley (Plymouth, Mass.) cut the lead in half with a goal to make it 6-3 but Emmanuel made sure to put the game out of reach, rattling off the next seven goals to build a 13-3 lead. Wootten, junior middieKristen Tuleja (Mansfield, Mass.) and senior attack Madison Altwies (Southington, Conn.) all scored twice during the spurt.
Emmanuel was almost able to keep the GNAC's leading scorer, Mount Ida attack Amanda Bowen (Randolph, Vt.) off the scoreboard in the first half but the senior found the back of the net with 1:04 to play in the opening stanza to pull Mount Ida to single digits at 13-4. It was short-lived as the Saints closed the half strong with back-to-back scores by senior middie Alexia Basile (West Hartford, Conn.) to account for a 15-4 halftime score.
In the second half, Bowen and Beaulieu each added their second goals of the game for the Mustangs while seven different Saints scored for Emmanuel to account for the 22-6 final.
Wootten finished the evening with a game-high nine points on five goals and four assists while Tuleja chipped in with six points on three goals and three assists.
Junior goalie Lauren White (Lynnfield, Mass.) earned the win, her 12th of the year, making two saves while Mount Ida freshman Sydney Fredette (Hudson, Mass.) came up with nine saves.
#3 JOHNSON & WALES 15, #6 SIMMONS 9
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Wildcats overcame a slow start to defeat Simmons on Wednesday evening at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletics Complex. Three players collected four points on the night for JWU while both sophomore Lydia Knapp (Glens Falls, N.Y.)and freshman Raquel Pederzani (Coventry, R.I.) scored three goals and picked up an assist while sophomoreKayla Smith (Eastham, Mass.) registered a pair of goals and pair of helpers in the winning effort.
Junior Greer Gilbert (Falmouth, Mass.) led the charge for Simmons with five markers while Stephanie Oliveri (Waltham, Mass.) threw in three goals and Kasey Fries (Bridgewater, Mass.) rounded out the scoring on the evening for the Sharks with one goal.
Marissa Hart (Cohoes, N.Y.) grabbed her first of two goals just 1:48 into the contest before Gilbert and Oliveri sent the visitors out to a 3-1 lead with 26:21 remaining in the opening half. Oliveri buried her second and third goals of the game with just over 19 minutes remaining giving the Sharks a 5-2 edge.
Smith cut the deficit to two with 17:58 on the clock before feeding freshman Gabrielle Vasile (Milford, Mass.) to bring the score 5-4.
The Sharks' Gilbert sent in her second free position shot of the night to extend the lead once more, 6-4, with 15:14 remaining in the half. The Wildcats then scored five of the last six goals in the opening stanza highlighted by two man-up goals; one by Hart with 1:58 remaining and another by Pederzani with :46 seconds left.
JWU outshot the Sharks 24-10 while winning the turnover battle by surrendering just eight giveaways to Simmons' 12.
Knapp threw in what would prove to be the game winner just 4:22 into the second half and added insurance when she collected the hat trick at the 22:23 mark. Gilbert scored twice more for the Sharks but it wouldn't be enough however, as the Wildcats scored four more in the half to secure the 15-9 victory.
In net, senior Genevieve Giampietro (Meriden, Conn.) made seven saves for the hosts in the win while Crystal Derosier (Kingston, Mass.) stopped 15 shots in the loss.
With the quarterfinal win, JWU improves to 13-2 on the year while Simmons finishes their season with a 6-9 record overall.
#2 LASELL 18, #7 NORWICH 6
NEWTON, Mass. - With Wednesday's win, Lasell improves to 10-5 this spring, while Norwich's season comes to a close at a mark of 5-8.
Junior Bridget Doherty (Franklin, Mass.) registered her 100th career goal alongside four goals this afternoon. Seniors Caitlyn Brecher (Cheshire, Conn.) and Toni Minelli (Newington, Conn.) teamed up with Doherty for Lasers' offense with four goals apiece, while junior Ashlee Pechulis (Westfield, Conn.) and freshmen Taylor Yandow(Moretown, Vt.) both potted two goals. Doherty handed out four assists for a total of eight points, while Minelli and Brecher had three and two helpers on the day, respectively.
Norwich senior Gina Conroy (Amherst, N.H.) registered five of the Cadets' six goals this afternoon, while classmate Emma Smith (Patterson, N.Y.) tallied a single goal for the visitors.
Lasell opened the contest with seven straight goals over the first sixteen minutes of the game. Brecher, Minelli and Doherty all scored twice over the spurt, while freshman Danielle Chambrelli (Cheshire, Conn.) added a single goal on a feed from Minelli to spark the Lasers offense.
Conroy was the biggest contributing factor for the Cadets' offense as she found the back of the cage three times in the first stanza as the Lasers led 9-3 at the break.
Pechulis and Minelli went back-to-back to open the second half and extended Lasell's advantage to 11-3. Conroy netted the Cadets' only free position goal of the afternoon, but was answered by Minelli, with a free position goal for the Lasers 24-seconds later, at 27:27.
Lasell closed the contest on a 6-2 run, highlighted by Doherty's 100th career goal, an unassisted marker with 3:38 left on the clock.
In net for the Lasers, senior Alexa Katsigianis (Amherst, N.H.) picked up her tenth win of the season (10-5) with 13 saves, while in the other crease, junior Courtney Hudson (Burke, Va.) made one save and senior Irene Okubo (Chicago, Ill.) came off the bench to stop seven shots this afternoon.
Lasell outshot Norwich 33-23, held a 16-9 advantage in draw controls, maintained a 24-18 margin in ground balls and were 13-for-15 in clearing attempts, while Norwich was 11-for-20 in transition over the contest.
The Lasers will host No. 3 seeded Johnson and Wales University in the GNAC semifinal round slated for Friday, April 24 at 3:30 p.m. on Grellier Field.
Game recaps provided by Saint Joseph's (Maine), Emmanuel, JWU & Lasell Athletics Communications.
Quarterfinals - Wednesday, April 22
Game 1: #1 Saint Joseph's Maine 21, #8 Rivier 5 | BOX
Game 2: #4 Emmanuel 22, #5 Mount Ida 6 | BOX
Game 3: #3 Johnson & Wales 15, #6 Simmons 9 | BOX
Game 4: #2 Lasell 18, #7 Norwich 6 | BOX
Semifinals - Friday, April 24
Game 5: #4 Emmanuel vs. #1 Saint Joseph's Maine - 7:30 p.m. (at Scarborough HS)
Game 6: #3 Johnson & Wales at #2 Lasell - 3:30 p.m.
Championship - Sunday, April 26
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner
– #theGNAC –