2014 WOMEN'S LACROSSE SEASON IN REVIEW

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College women's lacrosse team enjoyed the greatest season in the program's four-year history, capturing the program's first-ever Great Northeast Athletic Conference championship to earn an automatic bid to the D-III NCAA tournament. The Saints ended the year with a 15-3 overall record including a 10-0 mark in the GNAC.

EC kicked off the 2014 campaign with three GNAC victories, earning wins over University of Saint Joseph (CT), Johnson & Wales and Anna Maria while outscoring the three opponents 51-21.

Next up, the Saints hit their toughest three-game stretch of the year in which they would compete in three one-goal decisions. Unfortunately, two of the contests would go in favor of their opponents as Emmanuel dropped a pair of 12-11 road decisions to Regis on March 22 and Nichols on March 27. Despite the two defeats, the Saints were still able to come away with a thrilling 11-10 triple overtime victory over Fenway rival Simmons College on March 25 as sophomore midfielder Kristen Tuleja (Mansfield, Mass.) scored the game-winner, her fifth of the game.

A 17-1 victory over Albertus Magnus College on March 29 started a program-record 11-game winning streak. The Saints would go 10-0 during the month of April including 5-0 in GNAC regular season play before sweeping through the conference tournament for the GNAC title.

The Saints kicked off April with wins over Rivier, Maine Farmington and Mount Ida College before a showdown with Saint Joseph's College (ME). The Monks, who ended Emmanuel's 2013 campaign with a 17-9 blow in last year's GNAC playoffs threatened to hand EC its first conference loss of the year but Emmanuel was able to prevail, 15-14, in overtime to stay perfect in conference action. Sophomore middie Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) came up huge for the Saints with five goals including the game-winner, eight draw controls and four groundballs.

It didn't get any easier for EC as they faced off against the defending GNAC champions, Lasell, the following game at home. Despite trailing 4-1 in the early goings on the action, the Saints were able to fight back to take a 7-5 lead by the half. Lasell would send the game into overtime, tying the game at 12-all with just 27 seconds to play but Higgins came up big again with an overtime winner to lift Emmanuel to the 13-12 "W".

Emmanuel closed out their GNAC schedule with a 13-11 win over Norwich before wrapping the regular season with a 15-3 road win at Framingham State University.

In the GNAC tournament, EC cruised to a 20-8 win over USJ in the Quarterfinals before meeting Rivier in the Semis. The Raiders looked poised for an upset and lead 3-1 midway through the first half but the Saints were able to regroup and go a 5-4 cushion into the break. Two early goals in the second half gave the hosts some breathing room as they'd go on to prevail, 9-5, behind a stellar goalie performance from sophomore Lauren White (Lynnfield, Mass.) who made a career-high 17 saves in the win.

The GNAC Championship game featured a rematch with Saint Joseph's College (ME) but the results were much different from the one-goal affair during the regular season. After trading goals early, Emmanuel poured in five consecutive goals in the first half to take control with a 7-2 cushion. The Monks battled to stay in the action with three straight goals to close the half and open the second stanza but the Saints responded with seven unanswered scores to take a commanding 14-5 lead en route to a 17-7 win. Tuleja score a team-high six goals while White made 11 stops to earn tournament MVP honors.

The Saints would draw Wheaton College in their NCAA tournament berth only to fall to the Lyons, 14-3, to cap the amazing 2014 campaign.

Several student-athletes were recognized on the GNAC All-Conference squad for their season accomplishments including Higgins and Tuleja who were named to the First Team. The duo was also named to the ECAC New England Second Team. White along with freshman Emily Baker (Stratham, N.H.) and junior Sarah Wootten (Berlin, Md.) were named to the GNAC Second Team while first-year Head Coach Liz Goddard was named the GNAC Coach of the Year.

In her first season as Head Coach of the Emmanuel College women's lacrosse team, Goddard brought the program to unprecedented levels of success including the program's first-ever Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) regular season and tournament championship. Goddard, who was named the program's second-ever Head Coach just weeks before the season began, lead the Saints to a 15-3 record including a 10-0 mark in GNAC action as well as a program-record 11-game winning streak. Behind Goddard's leadership, the Saints broke the program record for wins (15), conference wins (10), winning percentage (.833), goals (249), goals allowed (117), groundballs (415) and caused turnovers (180). She was named the GNAC Coach of the Year and coached the Saints to the program's first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in just the program's fourth season of varsity competition.

The Saints return all 17 players from this season's roster in 2015, losing no one to graduation.