Women's Lacrosse Falters in GNAC Showdown vs. JWU

THE BASICS 

Score:             
Johnson & Wales University, 16; Emmanuel College, 6
Records:         
Emmanuel College Saints (3-5, 3-3 GNAC)
Johnson & Wales University Wildcats (6-3, 5-0 GNAC)
Location:         
Boston, Mass. – Clemente Field
Date:               
Tuesday, March 29, 2022

THE LEAD:  Johnson & Wales University scored seven straight goals to erase a first-half deficit en route to a 16-6 road victory over Emmanuel College in Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's lacrosse action on a frigid evening at Roberto Clemente Field in Boston, Mass.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• JWU got on the board just 25 seconds into the contest on a score by Taina Gamory (Warwick, N.Y.) before the Saints responded with goals by senior Chandra Franca (Woburn, Mass.) and junior Megan Steele (Auburn, Maine) to take a 2-1 lead.
• The Wildcats answered with three straight to regain the advantage, making it a 4-2 game on Madeleine Gould's (Oakdale, Conn.) score to open the second quarter.
• EC matched the run, rattling off three in a row on a pair of tallies from Steele followed by a Franca score with 5:31 left in the half to give the hosts a brief 5-4 lead before Gamory evened the score at 5-5 with under a minute to play in the quarter to send the teams into the halftime intermission deadlocked at 5-all.
• After nearly a 10-minute scoreless drought, Katie Sloan (Ellicott City, Md.) converted a man-down score for the Wildcats to move the visitors back on top, 6-5, with 5:57 remaining in the third before Gamory made it 7-5 with 32 seconds left in the third with her fourth goal of the evening.  
• Sloan gave JWU a little bit of breathing room with her second score of the half to make it 8-5 before Gould and Maris DiBeneditto (Southbury, Conn.) scored two more JWU goals over a four second span to open up the game at 10-5 with 11:44 to play to help the Wildcats hang on for the 16-6 GNAC road win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• JWU outshot the Saints by a 39-17 margin in the match and dominated draw controls with a 20-5 advantage.  
• Despite making 13 saves, EC senior goalie Emma Crowley (Peterborough, N.H.) suffered the loss in net for the Saints while her namesake, Emma Crowley (Leicester, Mass.) played the final two quarters for the Wildcats to earn the win by making four stops and holding the Saints to just one goal in the second half.
• Gamory led all players with eight points on six goals and two assists, adding four caused turnovers for JWU while DiBeneditto all ended the night with three goals.  
• Steele paced Emmanuel with four goals while Franca finished with two scores. First year Deja Srimouksavahn (Portsmouth, N.H.) chipped in with a pair of assists.
• Delaney Brown (Agawam, Mass.) added four caused turnovers for the Saints defensive unit.

UP NEXT

• The Saints hit the road on Saturday, April 2 for a GNAC showdown in Nashua, N.H. vs. Rivier University at 1:00 PM
• JWU hosts Saint Joseph's College (ME) the same day with the first draw scheduled for 2:00 PM in Providence, R.I.