WINTHROP, Mass. - The stage is set for the 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Soccer Championship as No. 1 seed Johnson & Wales and No. 2 seed will match up once again in a rematch of last year's title game on Saturday, Nov. 9.
The top-seeded Wildcats handled business against a familiar foe in No. 4 seed Lasell on Tuesday night as they broke a scoreless tie late in the first half and scored an insurance marker midway into the second half, winning 2-0, to advance to their fifth consecutive title game.
The second-seeded Saints went on an offensive tear in the first half, collecting four goals to set the tone and not look back as they went on to defeat Rivier, 6-0. History was made in the process as Saints Forward Sarah Dullaghan notched her 44th goal on the year, which the junior became the NCAA Division III record holder for most goals in a single season. Emmanuel advanced to the title game for the second straight season as they will take on JWU with a time to be determined.
#1 Johnson & Wales def. #4 Lasell, 2-0
Recap Courtesy of the Johnson & Wales Athletic Communications Department
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Freshman Rowan Garr broke a scoreless tie late in the first half to lift the top-seeded JWU (Providence) women's soccer team to a 2-0 win over No. 4 Lasell Tuesday night in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletic Complex.
Sophomore Grace Sheehan added an insurance marker at 61:58 of the second half to send the Wildcats (18-3-1) to the conference finals for the fifth-consecutive season, where they will host Emmanuel (MA) on Saturday. The Saints dealt Rivier a 6-0 defeat in the other semifinal to set up a rematch of last season's GNAC Championship, which was a one-goal win by JWU.
The Wildcats outshot the Lasers 12-0 in the first half and went in front when sophomore Sophia Warburton sent a cross into the box that was banged in by Garr at 39:08. In the second half, freshman Jamie Davies worked her way around a pair of defenders before feeding Sheehan in front for her team-leading 11th goal of the campaign.
Senior Leah Bragaw tallied three second-half saves to preserve the win and secure her seventh win of the season. JWU owned a 21-4 shot advantage and received eight corner kicks compared to one for the Lasers (9-6-4).
#2 Emmanuel def. #3 Rivier, 6-0
Recap Courtesy of the Emmanuel Athletic Communications Department
BOSTON – Emmanuel women's soccer is back in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship game while junior forward Sarah Dullaghan made history on Tuesday night, breaking the NCAA Division III women's soccer single-season goal-scoring record, after a hat trick in a 6-0 victory over the Rivier Raiders at Clemente Field in the GNAC Semifinals.
Dullaghan has scored 44 goals this season, breaking a 26-year-old record held by Katy Sturtz, who scored 43 goals in 1998 for Ohio Wesleyan. The Saints striker has scored in 18 of the team's 20 matches this season and has scored two or more goals in the same match in 13 of those 20 matches.
The record-setting goal came in the 82nd minute, set up by a free kick chance for the Saints. From 30 yards out, junior Annebel Balogh de Galantha fired at goal, forcing a save from the Raiders keeper. That save produced a rebound right to the feet of Dullaghan, who made no mistake from close range, finishing off a hat trick for her 44th tally of the season.
The Saints were out in front early with two goals in the opening 10 minutes with Dullaghan and graduate Hailey Goodman connecting on both scores for a 2-0 lead.
Goodman and Dullaghan combined in the seventh minute with the grad forward crossing in a pass from the right goal line that found the head of Dullaghan for a 1-0 lead. The combination doubled the Saints lead in the ninth minute with another cross from the right side that Dullaghan volleyed into the top-right corner for a 2-0 lead.
Sophomore Libby Tennant was next on the board for Emmanuel, scoring her first of two on the night, heading home a corner kick cross in the 24th minute from junior Liz McCormick, lifting the Saints to a 3-0 lead. Junior Loliana Morales finished off the scoring in the half with a 43rd-minute tally.
Emmanuel heads into the GNAC Championship Match on an eight-game winning streak and have not lost in more than a month over that span.
The top-seeded team in the GNAC Tournament, the Johnson & Wales Wildcats advanced to the championship with their 2-0 victory over the Lasell Lasers in the GNAC Semifinals, setting up a rematch of the 2023 GNAC Championship between Emmanuel and Johnson & Wales.
The Saints and Wildcats will meet on Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletic Complex in Providence for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The match time has yet to be announced.