SAINTS FALL TO MONKS IN GNAC WOMEN'S LACROSSE QUARTERFINALS, 17-9

SCARBOROUGH, Maine- #4 Saint Joseph's College (11-6, 6-3 GNAC) topped #5 Emmanuel College, 17-9, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament quarterfinal at Scarborough High School on Wednesday evening.

The outcome was never truly in doubt, as the Monks netted the game's first four goals and led by at least three for the entirety of the tourney contest. Eight different players scored for Saint Joseph's, a group led by junior Cassie Diplock (Augusta, Maine), who netted five goals to go with nine ground balls in the Monks' first-ever postseason victory.

Although the SJC offensive effort was impressive, it is likely the result would have been different if not for the stellar play of junior goalkeeper Haley Nason (Saco, Maine), who made 15 saves, several at point-blank range, on the evening.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's advances to the GNAC Tournament semifinal round and will face off against top-seeded Lasell College, which defeated #8 Mount Ida College by a 20-8 margin in other quarterfinal play this evening, in Newton, Massachusetts on Friday. Start time will be announced early tomorrow morning.

The loss signals the end of the 2013 campaign for Emmanuel, which earned the program's highest GNAC Tournament seeding in the three-year history of the women's lacrosse program this spring. Tonight's winning margin may come as a surprise to some, as the Monks only defeated the Saints by a 15-14 margin in their regular season meeting a few weeks ago.

For the Monks, junior Macy Pagurko (Augusta, Maine) added three goals and an assist with four ground balls, freshmen Kat Gadbois (Scarborough, Maine) and Mary Leasure (South Portland, Maine/McAuley) tallied two goals and an assist apiece, junior Anneka Adame (San Diego, Calif.) added two goals, six draw controls and four ground balls and sophomore Kirstin McCombs (Lewiston, Maine) chipped in with a goal, two helpers and eight ground balls in the Monks' historic triumph.

Sophomore Lizzie Calnan (Westport, Mass.) netted a goal and quietly put up big stick-play numbers with a game-high 12 ground balls and five caused turnovers and junior Krystal Walsh (Springvale, Maine) scored and scooped up three ground balls on the night. Junior Rachelle Messuri (Atkinson, N.H.) corralled nine ground balls, junior Erica Russi (Debary, Fla.) added five ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers and first-year Emma Lafrance (Westport, Mass.) chimed in with three ground balls and three caused turnovers for the hosts.

For the Saints (9-5, 5-4 GNAC), freshman midfielder Kristen Tuleja (Mansfield, Mass.) netted four goals and sophomore midi Alexia Basile (West Hartford, Conn.) registered three markers in a losing effort. Sophomore midfielder Sarah Wootten (Berlin, Md.) contributed a goal and an assist with eight ground balls while first-year midi Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) racked up solid defensive stats with eight ground balls, five draw controls and a game-high six caused turnovers on the evening.

Emmanuel freshman keeper Lauren White (Lynnfield, Mass.) made four saves in goal for the visitors.

*Release provided courtesy of Saint Joseph's College Sports Information Dept.