FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
#1 LASELL 2, #8 USJ 1 - 2OT
NEWTON, Mass. – Senior Sabrina Morais (Arlington, Mass.) connected from the middle of the box on a pass from the right sideline in the 103rd minute Friday afternoon to lift the top-seeded Lasell College women's soccer team to a 2-1 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) quarterfinal victory over eighth-seeded University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) at Taylor Field.
Morais sprinted from the middle of the field in the third minute of the second overtime, creating enough separation from the Blue Jays defenders to receive a cross from senior Carly Zdanek (Newton, N.J.) to clinch the victory.
The eight-time defending champion Lasers (13-5-0) advance to a GNAC semifinal game on Wednesday, October 31st, at Taylor Field against the winner of Friday night's the quarterfinal match between fifth-seed Regis College and fourth-seed Emmanuel College. The upset-minded Blue Jays complete their season at 7-8-1.
USJ nearly got on the scoreboard in the early going when senior Annmarie Masayda (Watertown, Conn) took a shot from the left side of the box that was deflected off the crossbar for the Blue Jays, before Rylee Snow (West Greenwich, R.I.) put a rebound shot just inches above the net.
The Blue Jays would take a 1-0 lead with 36:02 remaining in the first half, as senior Amanda Ghent (Portland, Conn.) scored on a penalty kick following a foul inside the box.
A handball inside the box by USJ gave Lasell senior Erika Badger (Scituate, Mass./pictured) a penalty-kick opportunity, and Badger put it deep into the left side of the net past a right-diving keeper.
Lasell outshot Saint Joseph 12-6 in a tightly-contested first half. The favored Lasers turned up the offense in the second half and outshot the visitors 10-0, but could not put one past USJ junior keeper Megan Ricci (Center Moriches, N.Y.). Senior Emma Papile (Quincy, Mass.) had a good scoring opportunity against Ricci with 15 minutes remaining, and classmate Morgan Pinksten (Pelham, N.H.) nearly scored with 10 minutes to go, but her shot was knocked away by a Blue Jay defender. Freshman Serena Speight (Biddeford, Maine) just missed a chance with about two minutes remaining.
Lasell had three shots in the first overtime before scoring on its first shot in the second extra frame. The Lasers finished with a 26-6 margin in shots, with all six Blue Jay attempts coming in the first half.
Ricci was outstanding in the Blue Jays' goal, matching her season-high with 13 saves. Freshman goalkeeper Angela Sanzari (North Haven, Conn.) record three saves to earn the win for the Lasers.
Courtesy of Lasell Athletics Communications.
#3 JWU 10, #6 COLBY-SAWYER 0
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Johnson & Wales University women's soccer team has been on the cusp of an offensive explosion and it finally came Friday night. The Wildcats scored seven times in the second half to defeat Colby-Sawyer, 10-0, in the quarterfinals of the GNAC tournament.
Records:
Colby-Sawyer: 7-8
Johnson & Wales: 14-6-1
Goalkeepers
CSC: Oona Bond (L, 7-7) 16 saves
JWU: Colleen Lynch: (W, 14-6-1) 3 saves
Statistical Leaders:
Olivia Cairrao (JWU): 2 goals, 1 assist
Emily Zeblisky (JWU): 2 goals
Of Note:
The Wildcats move on to face the winner of the Simmons vs. Saint Joseph's of Maine contest. JWU would host the Sharks, but travel to the Monks.
The 10 goals is a GNAC tournament record for the Wildcats, breaking the mark of eight done twice.
Christina Schneider and Emily Zeblisky each scored in the span of five minutes and Jordan Restivo added a goal just before the half as the Wildcats went the locker up 3-0.
Six minutes into the second half, Natalie Gallucci found the back of the net to start a scoring barrage that included Zeblisky's second goal and two tallies by Olivia Cairrao.
The JWU defense and goalkeeper Colleen Lynch continued to be impermeable. Colby-Sawyer only got four shots on goal – compared to 26 by the Wildcats – and Lynch pitched her third shutout in a row.
Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.
#4 EMMANUEL 1, #5 REGIS 0
BOSTON, MASS. - THE LEAD: Freshman midfielder Bailey Maurer (Florence, Mass.) found the back of the net in the 66th minute of play to power the Emmanuel College Women's Soccer team past Regis College, 1-0, Friday evening in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Quarterfinals at Roberto Clemente Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first half of action was similar to the last meeting between the two squads, seeing a balanced number of shots and possession as the Saints owned a slim 5-4 advantage in shots over the Pride at the break.
- Regis had the best scoring chance of the half, landing a direct kick just outside the Saints penalty area last in the half but the shot by Noelle Garcia (Los Angeles, Calif.) was denied.
- Both keepers held their ground in the opening stanza as EC junior Lexi Gawron (South Hadley, Mass.) made four saves while freshman Oriana Attridge (Westwood, Mass.) stopped three shots to preserve a 0-0 score heading into halftime.
- Midway through the second half, Emmanuel forced Regis into surrendering a corner kick which would ultimately result in the game-winner. Sophomore Emma Johnson (Ellington, Conn.) sent a ball into the box that found the feet of junior forward Natalie Dash (East Hampton, Conn.). Dash redirected the ball towards the frame before Maurer finished off the play with her second collegiate goal and first game-winner.
- Regis had its' best chance to even the score with less than two minutes to play as the Pride transitioned deep into the Emmanuel zone, creating a scrum in front of the goal mouth. Regis freshman forward Kaylee Francis (Milton, Mass.) tried to get a shot off but was denied by Emmanuel junior back Kaylin Deschenes (Lynn, Mass.) who cleared the ball to thwart the scoring chance, preserving the 1-0 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Gawron finished the night with six saves to earn her fourth consecutive shutout and extend her scoreless streak in net to 405 minutes. The junior now boasts a 0.66 goals against average, the lowest in the GNAC.
- Attridge made five stops for the Pride and ends her rookie campaign with a 6-6 overall record in net.
- The shutout win was the 10th clean slate of the year for the Saints, setting a new single-season record for shutouts in the program's 22 year history.
- EC is now 4-1 all-time vs. Regis, notching a pair of 1-0 victories this season over the Pride.
- The GNAC Quarterfinal win snaps a two-year skid for the Saints of getting bounced from the tournament in the opening round.
UP NEXT
- The Saints advance to the GNAC Semifinals for the first time since 2015 and will travel to top-seeded Lasell College for an afternoon contest on Wednesday, October 31. The two sides just played in the season-finale with Emmanuel coming away with a 2-1 victory over the Lasers.
Courtesy of Emmanuel Athletics Communications.
#2 SJC , #5 REGIS 0
STANDISH, Maine -- The seventh-seeded Simmons University women's soccer team looked like it was destined for overtime, but host number two seed Saint Joseph's College (Maine) scored the game-winner with 6.1 seconds left in the match this afternoon in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship Tournament Quarterfinals at the SJC Athletic Complex in Standish, Maine. The Sharks fell, 2-1, to finish their season with an overall record of 8-8-1, while the Monks improve to 14-3-0 and advance to the GNAC Semifinals.
Senior forward Haley DaGraca (Saco, Maine) scored her 18th goal of the season on a moving header as time was running out on regulation, but 6.1 ticks still remained on the board as the ball found the back of the net for Saint Joseph's. Sophomore midfielder Madeline Wood (Madison, Maine) collided with a Simmons defender that resulted in a no-call, got off the ground unmarked and proceeded to lift a cross that led DaGraca to the goalmouth where she was able to put her head on the ball for the score in the 90th minute.
The teams played evenly throughout the match, despite the seeding disparity, with the Monks holding a 13-11 shot advantage in contrast to Simmons owning a 7-4 margin on corner kicks.
The teams were scoreless after one of half of play, despite a shot off the crossbar, late in the opening half, off the foot of sophomore forward Cierra Martin (Rockaway, N.Y.) for the Sharks.
Saint Joseph's cracked the scoring column early in the second stanza with 38:43 left in the match. Sophomore forward Brenna Smith (Maynard, Mass.) sent a long cross from the right corner of the field to set up classmate McKenzie Murphy (West Baldwin, Maine) in front of the right post for her fifth goal of the year and a 1-0 lead for the Monks in the 52nd minute of play.
The Sharks evened the score at 1-1 in the 77th minute when they took advantage of a Saint Joseph's foul. Senior back Erin Fleming (Boylston, Mass.) took the free kick from just inside of midfield and watched the ball hit the turf and take off on a skip over the Monks' keeper and into the back of the net for Fleming's first collegiate marker to make it 1-1.
Senior keeper Lauren Wiliams (Bowdoinham, Maine) recorded five saves in her final career match for Simmons, while first year goalie Adia Grogan (Kennebunk, Maine) made three stops for Saint Joseph's.
Courtesy of Simmons 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.
– #TheGNAC –