FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NO. 1 JWU 25, NO. 8 Norwich 5
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Johnson & Wales University women's lacrosse team picked a good time to start piling up the goals. On Saturday, the Wildcats started their quest for a third-straight GNAC championship by defeating the Cadets of Norwich, 25-5, in the GNAC quarterfinals.
Records:
Johnson & Wales: 14-4
Norwich University: 7-10
Goalkeepers:
JWU: Cassidy O'Hara (W 10-3) 5 Saves, 5 Goals
NU: Lawson Hayes (L 6-8) 6 Saves, 25 Goals
Statistical Leaders:
JWU: Maria Patane, 5 Goals, 2 Assists
JWU: Dani Lydecker 4 Goals, 4 Assists
Maddie Bishara and Marley Medina each found the back of the net in the first 80 seconds of the game, but the Cadets were able to answer with a goal from Kate Winstanley at the 3:03 mark.
From there, the Wildcats stepped on the gas offensively, outscoring Norwich 17-3 the rest of the half. Maria Patane scored three of her five first-half goals during a 5-0 run.
Juliana Giello tallied all four of her goals during a 9-0 run that sent JWU into halftime with a 19-4 lead. JWU outshot Norwich, 30-10, in the first 30 minutes of play.
For the game, Johnson & Wales had a 38-17 advantage in shots while also holding a 12-4 margin for ground balls.
The Wildcats will host Simmons University on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the GNAC Semifinals.
Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.
NO. 5 Simmons 10, NO. 4 Colby-Sawyer 9 - OT
NEW LONDON, N.H. – The fifth seed Simmons University women's lacrosse team upset fourth seed Colby-Sawyer College, 10-9, in overtime of Saturday's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Quarterfinals.
Simmons improves to 10-6 and will go on to play at top seed Johnson & Wales on Wednesday in the GNAC semifinals. The Wildcats defeated eighth seed Norwich 25-5 in today's quarterfinal contest. Colby-Sawyer ends its season at 10-7.
The other semifinal will feature second seed Regis, which defeated seventh seed Emmanuel 13-5, against third seed Lasell, which defeated sixth seed Saint Joseph's (Maine) 13-7.
The Sharks trailed 8-5 with 13:42 left to play and rattled off four-straight goals, three by senior Mallory Cottam (Hope, R.I.), to take a 9-8 lead with 1:18 on the clock.
Colby-Sawyer senior Sierra Schuster (Hopkinton, N.H.) was able to pull the Chargers even at 9-9 by converting a free position shot with 26 seconds left in regulation.
Simmons sophomore Molly Reinhold (Mystic, Conn.) won the overtime draw to set up a scoring chance for the Sharks. Cottam weaved through the Colby-Sawyer defense and deposited the ball in the back of the net for the game-winner.
Cottam finished the game with seven goals, seven ground balls, and three caused turnovers. Reinhold added a goal and game-highs of seven draw controls and five caused turnovers.
Colby-Sawyer was led by Schuster. She registered four goals, two assists and a couple of caused turnovers. Senior Brittany Ireland (Amherst, N.H.) finished with a goal, two assists and three caused turnovers.
Simmons goalie Cat Cross (Beverly, Mass.) earned the win with five saves, while Colby-Sawyer junior goalie Kailyn Lapham (Medway, Mass.) finished with 13 saves in the loss.
Courtesy of Colby-Sawyer Athletics Communications.
NO. 3 Lasell 13, NO. 6 Saint Joseph's Maine 7
NEWTON, Mass. – Senior Jordan McComb (Cumberland, R.I.) scored five goals and added two assists Saturday afternoon as third-seeded Lasell College took down sixth-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine, 13-7, in a quarterfinal game of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's lacrosse tournament at Grellier Field.
The Lasers, who had defeated the Monks 12-11 in overtime just three days ago, captured their eighth straight victory to improve to 15-3 overall. St. Joe's winds up its season at 9-8 overall. Lasell moves on to a semifinal game on Wednesday, May 1, at 6 p.m. at second-seeded Regis College, which defeated seventh-seeded Emmanuel College Saturday, 13-5.
Junior Amanda DiLeonardo (West Haven, Conn.) and freshman Erin Kriger (Burlington, Mass.) also scored three goals apiece for the Lasers, and senior Vanessa Pino (Methuen, Mass.) tallied a goal and three assists. McComb also added five draw controls, three ground balls and two caused turnovers to her standout performance.
The Monks got two goals apiece from seniors Kayla Kelly (York, Maine) and Kara Kelly (York, Maine) and junior Maddy Beaulieu (West Gardiner, Maine). Kayla Kelly collected a team-high five draw controls.
The visitors scored the first two goals of the game, but Lasell came back with the next four, including a pair by McComb, to double up the Monks at the midway point of the first half. St. Joe's got one back but Lasell tallied three in the final five minutes of the half to lead 7-3 at the break.
The Monks pulled to within three goals (8-5) in the second half but Lasell answered with three straight, including two more from McComb, to go ahead 11-5 with 11 minutes remaining, a lead St. Joe's could not overcome.
Junior Morgan Choquet (Woonsocket, R.I.) earned the win in goal for Lasell, making seven saves. Freshman Madelyn Nelson (Casco, Maine) made 12 saves at the other end in the Monks goal.
Courtesy of Lasell Athletics Communications.
NO. 2 Regis 13, NO. 7 Emmanuel 5
WESTON, Mass. – Regis College, the second seed in the 2019 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament, defeated seventh seed Emmanuel College, 13-5, Saturday afternoon in a tournament quarterfinal match at Regis Stadium.
With the victory, Regis improves to 14-2 and advances to the tournament semifinals, where it will host third seed Lasell College, a 13-7 victor over Saint Joseph's College Saturday, Wednesday, May 1, at a time to be announced. Emmanuel sees its season end with a 7-9 overall record.
Regis scored first just 1:28 into the match as Emily Kosak (Milton, Mass.) earned her 21st goal of the season. Even though it was down one player, Emmanuel was able to tie the contest just over six minutes into the match on an unassisted goal by Chandra Franca (Woburn, Mass.).
The Pride took control with 10 straight goals spanning 27:54 of game action, starting with an unassisted goal by Rachel Nadeau (Coventry, Conn.). Jordyn Ringuette (Colchester, Conn.) scored three goals in the first half, Kosak and Alyssa Kelly (Lee, Mass.) earned two goals apiece during that stretch, and Nadeau added another goal late in the first half.
After Brooke Ross (Hanover, Mass.) scored five minutes into the second half to complete the 10-0 run, Kylie Rice broke the Pride scoring streak with a goal on a free position attempt. Meghan Sargent (Brattleboro, Vt.) earned her second goal of the season off an assist by Kelly midway through the second half.
Emmanuel rattled off three unanswered goals, starting with Franca's second goal of the match and continuing with free position tallies by Elizabeth Fortier (Newburyport, Mass.) and Aisling Butler (Westfield, Mass.). With less than three minutes left in the second half, Kerri Anselmo (Natick, Mass.) drew a free position opportunity and converted it for the final goal of the afternoon.
Eight different Regis players earned at least one point in the match, led by Ringuette and Kosak with three goals and Kelly with two goals and one assist. The Pride controlled the majority of ground balls, 37-22, led by seven ground balls from Sargent. Kosak led Regis with six draw controls to go along with five ground balls.
Franca was the only Emmanuel player with more than one point in the match thanks to her two goals. Katelyn Hunter (South Windsor, Conn.) led the Saints with four ground balls, while Emily Saef (Moultonborough, N.H.) picked up five draw controls as Emmanuel won eight of the nine draw controls in the second half to tie for the match, 10-10.
Defensively, Regis caused 22 of Emmanuel's 36 turnovers, led by Nadeau, Ross, Sargent, and Maddy Rodriguez (Amherst, Mass.) with three caused turnovers apiece. Pride goalie Brittany McPherson (Lynn, Mass.) finished with six saves, five of them in the second half, as she tied the Regis single season record for most wins by a goalie with 14.
Emmanuel keeper Bethany Bonilla-Colon (Milton, Mass.) led the Saints with five caused turnovers as they forced 21 of Regis' 32 turnovers. Bonilla-Colon made eight saves in the first half on her way to an 11-save performance.
The semifinal match between Regis and Lasell will be a rematch of the regular season contest that took place March 27, as the Pride held off a late comeback to defeat the Lasers, 11-10. Kelly led the Pride with four goals, while Anselmo finished with one goal and four assists.
Courtesy of Regis Athletics Communications.
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. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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