SHARKS TOP SAINTS IN COLLEGES OF THE FENWAY SHOWDOWN

BOSTON, Mass. - Simmons College remains undefeated in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Lacrosse action after defeating Emmanuel College, 12-7 in the much-anticipated Fenway rivalry matchup.  The Sharks have now won five straight games and move to 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the GNAC.  The Saints fall to 3-2 on the season and 0-2 in the league with the loss.

Stephanie Oliveri (Waltham, Mass.) paced the Sharks with a season-high five goals and senior goalkeeper Kelly Last (West Haven, Conn.) came up huge in the second half with nine saves to ensure the Sharks victory.

The Sharks opened the scoring as Oliveri beat Saints goalkeeper Lauren White (Lynnfield, Mass.) up high off a pass from Rachel Wallace (Braintree, Mass.). Oliveri doubled the score just two minutes later, but Emmanuel's Alexia Basile (West Hartford, Conn.) put the Saints on the board to cut the Sharks lead to 2-1.

With ten minutes to play in the first half, Simmons unleashed their offense, as freshman Greer Gilbert (Falmouth, Mass.) scored twice and Ashley Sheehan (North Attleboro, Mass.), Ali Stonehouse (Keene, N.H.), Wallace and Oliveri put the Sharks up 8-1. With 18 seconds remaining in the half, Saints freshman Kristen Tuleja (Mansfield, Mass.) tallied her first of the game as the Sharks held an 8-2 lead at halftime.

The Saints rallied in the second half, outscoring the Sharks, 5-4.  Tuleja scored three straight goals for Emmanuel. Oliveri rolled the crease during a man up situation for her forth goal of the game and scored her final goal with 15:03 remaining, as the Sharks held a 10-5 lead.

Basile ran the ball coast to coast during a Saints man-up advantage to cut the Sharks lead, but Gilbert and Sheehan added insurance goals to keep the Sharks safely ahead. Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) added the last Saints goal with 4:25 to play, brining the final score to 12-7.

On defense, Simmons sophomore Chelsea Keefe (Averill Park, N.Y.) recorded four ground balls and caused five turnovers, while Emmanuel's Tuleja posted four ground balls and three caused turnovers. Tuleja also finished with 4 goals off of 6 shots for the Saints.

The Sharks held a slight advantage in draw controls, 11-10 and shots, 25-22. Kelly Last made 13 saves for her fourth win of the season while White stopped nine shots in the loss.

Simmons will return to action on Saturday, March 30, when they host Saint Joseph's College of Maine at 11:00 a.m.  Emmanuel will host the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) on Saturday in a noontime start.

- Release courtesy of Simmons College Sports Information