Women's Lacrosse Downs Colby-Sawyer, 20-14, Secures GNAC North Division Regular Season Championship on Senior Day

BOSTON – Trailing by a goal heading into the fourth quarter, Saints Women's Lacrosse (12-4, 10-0 GNAC) erupted for eight goals in the final 15 minutes to earn a crucial 20-14 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory over Colby-Sawyer (11-4, 7-3 GNAC) on Saturday afternoon at Clemente Field. The win secured the Saints' spot as the GNAC North Division regular season champions with one game left to play prior to postseason competition.

Prior to the game, Alyssa Hogan (Westborough, Mass.), Maddie Kross (Bolton, Conn.), and Deanna Bourque (Loudon, N.H.) were honored as members of the Class of 2024 for their contributions to the Emmanuel women's lacrosse program.

The Saints got the scoring started early with Madeline Wright (Mattapoisett, Mass.) finding the back of the net just 26 seconds into the game. Colby-Sawyer responded with a goal of their own from Hannah Marquis (Weare, N.H.) 32 seconds later to level the score. The visitors went on to build a 4-1 lead in the first quarter, but the Saints battled back. With 10 seconds left to go, Livia Fedele (Spencerport, N.Y.) fired home a free position shot to bring the Saints even at five.

Colby-Sawyer re-took the lead 37 seconds into the second quarter through a Soph Kuhlthau (Cheshire, Conn.) solo goal. The Chargers added another goal minutes later to make the lead 7-5, but the Saints, once again, responded. Emmanuel posted four of the final five goals of the period, all coming in the final 3:13 before the break. It was another free position shot, this time from Dejaliyah Srimouksavanh (Portsmouth, N.H.), that gave the Saints a 9-8 edge 19 second prior to the halftime horn.

The two sides traded goals in the first half of the third quarter, but with 7:59 on the clock, the Chargers found the back of the net to take an 11-10 edge thanks to Rose Finlayson (Hopkinton, N.H.). Colby-Sawyer held on to their slight advantage and took a 12-11 lead into the final 15 minutes.

The fourth quarter was nothing short of an offensive explosion for the Saints. The home side tallied six straight goals in under seven minutes to open up a 17-12 lead. The go-ahead goal was tallied by Maddie Kross (Bolton, Conn.), a fitting moment for the senior in her last regular season home game. Emmanuel went on to take a 20-14 victory and the GNAC North Division Championship.

Livia Fedele led the Saints attack, tying her career-high with five goals and setting a new career-high with four assists on the afternoon. Dejaliyah Srimouksavanh added in three goals and five assists while Alexandra Gencarelli (Bradford, R.I.) tallied a match-best six ground balls for the Saints in the win. Heather Hanson (Barnstable, Mass.) led the Chargers with five goals and an assist in the loss.

Up next, the Chargers will wrap-up their regular season with a trip to Newton for a GNAC matchup with Lasell on Monday (4/22) at 4:00 P.M. The Saints will look to complete an undefeated conference regular season on Tuesday (4/23) when they visit New England College for a 7:00 P.M. start.