FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The 2014 GNAC Women's Soccer Tournament Quarterfinals got underway on Sunday afternoon at high seeds, as second-seeded Emmanuel College handled seventh-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine, 2-0, sixth-seeded Johnson & Wales advanced on penalty kicks over third-seeded Simmons College, and fourth-seeded Albertus Magnus knocked off fifth-seeded University of Saint Joseph, 3-2, in double overtime.
The GNAC's #1-#8 matchup was pushed back from Sunday to Monday at 1:45 p.m. due to weather, as top-seeded Lasell College blanked eighth-seeded Suffolk University, 7-0.
Lasell will take on Albertus Magnus in Wednesday's semifinals at 1:45 p.m., while JWU will travel to Emmanuel at 7:00 p.m. The two that prevail will match up in Saturday, November 8 in the GNAC title game.
#2 EMMANUEL 2, #7 SAINT JOSEPH'S 0 - BOX
BOSTON, Mass. - Senior forward Kelsie Dumas (pictured, Dalton, Mass.) scored two goals Sunday afternoon at Roberto Clemente Field, as the Saints improve to 12-9 on the year and the Monks' season ends with an 8-10-2 record.
Dumas gave the hosts the lead for good with her 13th goal and fifth game-winning tally of the year. Junior midfielder Katelyn Fink (Sanford, Maine) played a through ball pass on the ground to Dumas who made a hard run on the right side of the pitch past the Monks defensive line. Saint Joseph's freshman goalie Brooke Troup (East Bridgewater, Mass.) was forced to come off her line to cut down the angle but Dumas took a smooth right-footed touch past the last line of defense before finding the weak side of the net to give Emmanuel the 1-0 lead just 9:24 into the action.
Emmanuel continued to press and eventually added the insurance goal from Dumas at the 79:05 marker to make it 2-0 with just over 10 minutes to play. Saints goalkeeper Victoria Laroche ended the afternoon with six saves to earn her 10th win and fourth shutout of the year. Troup made eight saves in net for the Monks.
BOSTON, Mass. - Johnson & Wales' first three shooters were all successful in their penalty kick tries with freshman forward Taylor Hopkins (Warminster, Pa.) and junior back Kelsey Swanger (Altoona, Pa.) finding the back of the net before freshman forward Kyra Selner (Sterling, Va.) put away what proved to be the deciding kick for the Wildcats.
Freshman defender Jessie Pratt (Westfield, Mass.) began the shootout for Simmons with a successful try to give it a 1-0 edge, before JWU junior keeper Alex Place (East Greenwich, R.I.) turned away the next two attempts by the Sharks. Junior back Issy Verrilli (Naugatuck, Conn.) pulled Simmons to within 3-2 in the fourth round of the shootout and junior goalie Briana Hayes (Manorville, N.Y.) stopped Johnson & Wales' next attempt, but Place matched her with a stop in the fifth round to advance the Wildcats to the GNAC semifinals.
Johnson & Wales is now 10-9-2 while Simmons falls to 9-7-3 on the season.
#4 ALBERTUS MAGNUS 3, #5 SAINT JOSEPH 2 (2OT) - BOX
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Danielle Polvan (East Haven, Conn.) netted the game-winning goal in the 102nd minute for Albertus Magnus, as the Falcons opened up thier sixth straight postseason appearance.
Tied 2-2 heading into the second overtime, the Falcons looked to its leading scorer, as Polvan drilled a shot into the back of the net for her second goal of the contest and the 11th of the season.
Sunday's contest began with an early goal scored by the Falcons' Kaitlyn Fedumenti (Bridgeport, Conn.). Freshman Angelina Piccirillo (Naugatuck, Conn.) sent the ball into the box where the Blue Jays' keeper was able to get her hands on it but Fedument finished the play for her fifth goal of the season.
The Bluejays' Dayna Gambino evened the score in the 16th minute when she fired a shot from 25 yards out after receiving a pass from teammate Nicole Aquillo.
Tied at 1-1 at the break, the Falcons struck first in the second half when Polvan took a pass from Fedumenti and went one-on-one with the keeper before sending the ball into the back of the net to put Albertus ahead in the 66th minute.
But less than a minute later, USJ's Amanda Montano scored her third goal of the season as she chipped a shot over the hands of Maria Case (West Haven, Conn.) to tie it again. That was how the score would stay at the end of regulation, sending the game into overtime.
Albertus outshot the Blue Jays 18-14 in the contest, including a 2-1 clip in the extra periods. Case finished the contest with four saves for the Falcons, while USJ's Melissa Dodge picked up nine saves.
#1 LASELL 7, #8 SUFFOLK 0 - BOX
NEWTON, Mass. - The win improved Lasell to 15-4 while Suffolk finished their season at 5-9-3. Sophomore Megan Cullen led the Lasers with four goals, senior Bridget Lynch added two, and senior Kayla Lynch (Dover, N.H.) tallied one.
K. Lynch opened the scoring in the sixth minute when she netted a lower left 90 goal from a frame by Cullen. Sophomore Devon Day (Hartford, Vt.) set up B. Lynch on the following goal, allowing her to take advantage of a one on-one situation with Suffolk senior keeper Melissa Brouillette (Shelton, Conn.).
Lasell nearly netted their third of the game when Cullen and Bridget Lynch fired back-to-back shots on net, but were denied the opportunity from Brouillette. Cullen tallied the following three goals set up by B. Lynch, K. Lynch, and sophomore Erin Smith (Gorham, Mass.). In the 23rd minute, Cullen scored back-to-back goals in a 12 second span.
In the 59th minute, B. Lynch notched an upper 90 header on a cross from Day. With 19:33 left in regulation, Cullen added the final goal of the game with freshman Casey Meissner (Sandwich, Mass.) on the assist. Between the pipes, Lasell freshman keeper Sarah LaClair (Belchertown, Mass.) recorded three saves, while Brouillette stopped 12 of the 19 shots faced on net for the Rams.
Information Provided by Emmanuel, JWU, Albertus Magnus & Lasell Athletics Communications.
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