Late Surge Not Enough; Women's Lacrosse Falls to No. 1 Saint Joseph's, 12-7 in GNAC Semifinal

STANDISH, Maine – Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (19-0) held off a late rally to defeat #5 Emmanuel College (10-8), 12-7, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's lacrosse tournament semifinal contest at the SJC Athletics Complex on Tuesday evening. The Saints outscored the Monks 6-2 over the final 27 minutes of play but it wasn't enough to knock off the undefeated GNAC juggernaut.

PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:

With the win, Saint Joseph's advances to the GNAC Championship game for the third time – and first since 2015 - and will host #3 Johnson & Wales University in the conference title bout on Saturday at 2:00 PM. The Wildcats upset second-seeded Simmons University, 14-10, in other semifinal action this evening to advance to the championship contest.

For Emmanuel, the loss brings an end to the 2022 campaign.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Monks opened the contest with seven unanswered goals and held a 10-1 lead after grad student Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine) kicked off the third quarter with her 78th marker of the season.

With the game seemingly out of reach, the Saints fought back into contention by netting five of the subsequent six goals to cut their deficit to 11-6 with 3:43 on the clock. The visitors' momentum ended 46 seconds later when sophomore Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine) scored her 38th marker of the season to make it a 12-6 game.

TEAM STATS:

Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (35-22), shots on goal (26-15), ground balls (36-21), and draw controls (13-10) in the triumph.

THE KEEPERS:

SJC freshman starter Morgan Wright (Chelmsford, Mass.) played very well in the victory and tallied eight saves, three ground balls, and a caused turnover.

Emmanuel senior Emma Crowley (Peterborough, N.H.) turned away 14 shots in the losing effort.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

·       Dexter tallied three goals, an assist, three ground balls, and eight draw controls

·       Sophomore Bridget Collins (Milford, Conn.) scored four goals on six shots

·       Sophomore Megan Mourmouras (Biddeford, Maine) netted four goals with an assist, four ground balls, two draw controls, and a pair of caused turnovers

·       Freshman Shauna Clark (Oakland, Maine) had a great game with two assists and nine ground balls

·       Junior Tara Powers (Tyngsboro, Mass.) chipped in with three caused turnovers and two ground balls

LEADERS – EMMANUEL:

·       Senior Chandra Franca (Woburn, Mass.) scored three goals to close the season with 64 which ranks second all-time for goals in a single-season at Emmanuel

·       Freshman Anna Drillen (Readfield, Maine) added two goals and three caused turnovers

·       Freshman Deja Srimouksavanh (Portsmouth, N.H.) tallied a goal, two assists, four groundballs, and six draw controls

·       Freshman Delaney Brown (Agawam, Mass.) posted three ground balls and three caused turnovers

*Release courtesy of Saint Joseph's College (ME) Athletic Communications