FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine and second-seeded Lasell College will meet Sunday afternoon in the 2015 GNAC Women's Lacrosse Championship contest after both programs earned semifinal victories on Friday night. Sunday's title game will take place at 6:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Portland, Maine. 

Lasell handled third-seeded Johnson & Wales University, 18-11, while Saint Joseph's (Maine) took down fourth-seeded and defending conference champion Emmanuel College, 15-8. 

#2 LASELL 18, #3 JWU 11
NEWTON, Mass. - With Friday's win, the Lasers improve their overall record to 12-5, while the Wildcats close their 2015 campaign at 13-3.

Senior Toni Minelli (Newington, Conn.) and freshman Taylor Yandow (Moretown, Vt.) registered four goals apiece to propel the Lasers to the final round of the GNAC playoffs. Minelli went a perfect 3-for-3 in free position opportunities, while Yandow dominated a game-high six draw controls. Juniors Bridget Doherty (Franklin, Mass.) and Bridget Munnelly (Bellingham, Mass.) tallied a hat trick each, while senior Caitlyn Brecher (Cheshire, Conn.) tossed in a pair of goals as well.

Sophomore leading goal scorer Lydia Knapp (Glens Falls, N.Y.) added three goals and three assists in the effort, while rookie Racquel Pederzani (Coventry, R.I.) contributed with hat trick and a single assist.

Each team traded a pair of goals in the opening stanza, followed by three unanswered goals from Lasell to boost the hosts up 4-1. After Minelli secured the free position shot for the 5-1 advantage, the Wildcats responded with two goals of their own, slicing the deficit to two, 5-3.

Netting her second free position shot of the day, Minelli gave the Lasers some breathing room 6-3 with 8:44 left, assured by a Munnelly goal 1:12 later. The Wildcats were relentless in the following plays, scoring back-to-back goals via Pederzani and Knapp. Knapp owned the draw control following a Lasell marker by junior Ashlee Pechulis (Westfield, Mass.), which led to a JWU goal from Pederzani to keep the visitors in the two-point reach.

The slim margin of points wouldn't last for long, as Lasell rattled off four goals in the opening minutes of the second stanza. With 22:16 left, Pederzani found freshman Gabrielle Vasile (Milford, Mass.) for the visitors' seventh goal of the afternoon. The Wildcats attempted a late-game rally with 6:15 left, as Knapp and sophomore Megan Brown (Great Mills, M.D.) teamed up for back-to-back goals in 1:05 time frame. However the Lasers remained focused in the closing plays of the game, as Yandow scored the final two goals of the game to give the Lasers the 18-11 victory. 

Lasell held a slim 23-21 and 16-15 advantage in ground balls and draw controls, respectively. The Lasers were 10-13 in transition, while also outshooting the visitors 29-21. 

Senior keeper Alexa Katsigianis (Amherst, N.H.) earned the win in between the pipes with six saves in the full 60 minutes of play. Senior goalie Genevieve Giampietro (Meriden, Conn.) suffered the loss, allowing five goals on six shots, before freshman Prachi Joglekar (Boston, Mass.) registered seven saves and 13 goals against in 43:08 minutes of relief.

#1 SAINT JOSEPH'S MAINE 15, #4 EMMANUEL 8
SCARBOROUGH, Maine - Sophomore midfielder Jackie Wilson (Tiverton, R.I.) tallied five goals with two assists and 10 draw controls in the victory Friday for the Monks. 

For Emmanuel, which defeated Saint Joseph's in the 2014 GNAC Championship, the loss signals the end of the 2015 season, save for an ECAC berth.

In what was a very physical game, the Monks took control early and held a 3-1 lead just four minutes into play, as goals from Elyse Caiazzo (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus), Elizabeth Elcock (Westwood, Mass.) and Lizzie Calnan (Westport, Mass.) tripled up a goal by Emmanuel's Kristen Tuleja (Mansfield, Mass.) with 26 minutes remaining in the opening half

The Saints fought back with a pair of goals over the following five minutes to knot the contest at 3-3, as junior Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) scored off an Emily Baker (Stratham, N.H.) assist at the 24:21 mark and senior Sarah Wootten (Berlin, Md.) netted a man-down marker 2:41 later to make it a 3-3 contest with 21:40 left in the first frame.

Wilson and Higgins traded goals at the 20:17 and 19:07 marks, respectively, to maintain the stalemate, but the Monks received three-straight scores from Caiazzo, Wilson and sophomore Kelsey Dumond (Lewiston, Maine), with the latter being a man-up goal off a Calnan feed at the 3:28 mark, to propel the hosts to a 7-4 cushion.

Freshman midfielder Stephanie Warn (Hanson, Mass.) cut the Saints' deficit down to 7-5 with a man-up marker at the 1:54 timestamp and the score remained heading into intermission, despite the Monks' repeated attempts at posting the last shot in the closing seconds.

In the first half, Saint Joseph's held advantages in both shots (14-8) and draw controls (9-4) while Emmanuel owned a 7-5 lead in ground balls during the opening 30 minutes.

In the second stanza, St. Joe's raced out of the gates with three goals over the opening 4:33, as Wilson, Elcock and Caiazzo scored a goal apiece to make it a 10-5 game. Wootten answered with her second goal of the night, off an Alexia Basile (West Hartford, Conn.) feed, at the 24:20 mark, but the Monks netted four of the subsequent five goals to all but seal the victory. Dumond, Caiazzo, Calnan and Wilson all hit pay dirt during the stretch, more than offsetting an Amanda Cook (Saco, Maine) tally with 8:24 on the clock, to make it a 14-7 game with 4:22 remaining.

The Saints made one last push, as Tuleja benefited from a foul in the circle and scored on a free-position shot with 3:43 left, but Wilson won the ensuing draw and took the ball downfield, eluding several defenders en route to netting her fifth goal of the night, the game's final tally scored at the 3:24 mark.

Overall, the Monks held advantages in shots (25-15), and draw controls (18-7) while the Saints maintained a 16-12 edge in ground balls on the evening.

For the Monks, Caiazzo tallied four goals with an assist, four draw controls and a pair of caused turnovers, Calnan contributed two goals and an assist, and Dumond and Elcock scored a pair of goals apiece in the tournament victory. Junior goalie Michelle Cunha (Enfield, Conn.) made a pair of saves in what was the Monks' 16th consecutive triumph.

For the Saints, Wootten scored two goals with an assist, Higgins and Tuleja netted a pair apiece, and Warn added a goal with a game-high six ground balls and two caused turnovers on the night. Junior goalie Lauren White (Lynnfield, Mass.) made six saves in the losing bid.

Quarterfinals - Wednesday, April 22 | RECAP
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: #1 Saint Joseph's Maine 15, #4 Emmanuel 8 | BOX
Game 6: #2 Lasell 18, #3 Johnson & Wales 11 | BOX

Championship - Sunday, April 26
#2 Lasell vs. #1 Saint Joseph's Maine - 6:30 PM | Memorial Stadium, Portland, Maine

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