Women's Lacrosse Completes Perfect GNAC Regular Season After 18-7 Win at NEC

HENNIKER, N.H. – For the third time in program history, Emmanuel Saints women's lacrosse has completed an unbeaten Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) regular season schedule, thanks to an 18-7 win over the New England College Pilgrims on Tuesday night at Don Melander Field.

The victory moves the Saints to 13-4 (11-0 GNAC) this season and joins the unbeaten GNAC seasons of 2014 and 2021 as the only other years with an undefeated conference record in team history.

As they have been for much of this season, Emmanuel was off to a quick start, opening Tuesday's win with the first six goals of the contest. Junior Dejaliyah Srimouksavanh (Portsmouth, N.H.) and sophomore Madeline Wright (Mattapoisett, Mass.) both scored twice in the opening run.

Sophomores Brianna Stephenson (Waterboro, Maine) and Livia Fedele (Spencerport, N.Y.) added the other Saints tallies for a 6-0 lead. The Pilgrims scored twice before the first quarter expired, including a player-down goal for sophomore Mackenzie McDonald (Boscawen, N.H.), that pulled the Pilgrims back to a 6-2 deficit.

The Saints scoring picked back up in the second quarter as Emmanuel outscored New England College 7-0 in the frame. Wright netted another pair in the quarter, joined by Fedele, who scored twice in the frame. Srimouksavanh, and juniors Rachel Canedy (Woodstock, Conn.) and Abby Brown (Saco, Maine) added the other goals that boosted the Saints to a 13-2 edge.

Emmanuel and New England College each scored five times in the second half, including a pair of goals for sophomore Avery Robillard (Rowley, Mass.), as the Saints scored an 18-7 win.

Wright finished with a game-high five goals, giving her 61 on the season to make her one of three Saints with a 60-goal season in team history. Srimouksavanh finished with a game-best seven points on two goals and five assists. Junior goalie Isabella Thomas (Miami, Fla.) matched a career-high with 13 saves in the win, improving to 13-4 (11-0 GNAC) this season.

McDonald and senior Nathalie Antigua (North Brunswick, N.J.) both scored twice for the Pilgrims. Senior goalie Carleigh Knotts (Dover, Del.) made three saves and dropped to 7-10 (4-7 GNAC) in the loss.

Emmanuel has won 10 straight games, marking their second-longest winning streak in program history, trailing an 11-game winning streak by the 2014 team. The 11 regular season wins over GNAC opponents also set a new program record, breaking the previous record of 10, set by the 2014 and 2023 squads.

The perfect GNAC regular season gives Saints the hosting honors through all rounds of the upcoming GNAC Postseason, as Emmanuel has clinched home-field advantage for the first time since 2021.

With a new GNAC Postseason structure in place, the teams that qualified for the playoffs will start their quarterfinals with a cross-division game to open the race for the GNAC Championship.

As the No. 1 seed in the North, the Saints will play the winner of a South Division Play-In Game between the No. 4 seed Elms and No. 5 seed Lasell. The GNAC Play-In Round is set for Thursday, April 25.

The winner of Elms and Lasell then travels to Clemente Field to take on the top-seeded Saints in the GNAC Quarterfinals on Saturday, April 27, at noon.