WOMEN’S LACROSSE CRUISES PAST USJ IN GNAC TILT

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College women's lacrosse team cruised to a 19-1 Great Northeast Athletic Conference victory Wednesday evening over University of Saint Joseph (CT). The Saints move to 4-7 on the year and 3-3 in GNAC play while the loss drops the Blue Jays to 3-5 and 0-5 in conference.

Emmanuel wasted no time scoring five goals in the opening 3:32 of the game to set the tone for the remainder of the action. Freshman Allison Hutchings (Billerica, Mass.) scored the first and fifth goals while senior Savannah Lundwall (Fiskdale, Mass.), freshman Andrea Liddell (Weymouth, Mass.) and senior Emily Baker (Stratham, N.H.) scored in between to get the game underway and the hosts a 5-0 lead.

The Blue Jays avoided the shutout on an unassisted score by Charlotte Eberhardt (Thomaston, Conn.) at the 26:15 marker of the first half to cut the lead to 5-1. Unfortunately for the visitors it was the only shot that got by EC sophomore goalie Bethany Bonilla-Colon (Milton, Mass.) as the Saints coasted the rest of the way to a 19-1 win. Emmanuel led 13-1 at the break, outshooting USJ 19-5 in the stanza. Freshman Kylie Rice (Bethlehem, Conn.) and senior Abaigeal Merrigan (Rye, N.H.) added two goals in the half while senior Amanda Cook (Saco, Maine) and Olivia Marcello (Warwick, R.I.) rounded out the first half scorers.

The Saints held Saint Joseph scoreless in the second half and added two goals from Lundwall and Baker, another goal from Liddell as well as a tally from senior Sophia White (Monterey, Calif.).

Baker finished the night with eight points on three goals and five assists while Merrigan added seven points on five assists and two goals. Both players tied the single-game assist record with five helpers. Lundwall was the high-scorer with four goals while Liddell chipped in with four points on three goals and one helper.

Bonilla-Colon made five saves in net to earn the win while Emily Bourassa (Bristol, Conn.) made five saves for the Blue Jays in defeat.

The Saints return to action tomorrow evening for a non-conference road game at Salem State University scheduled for 7:00 PM while USJ is back on Saturday, April 22 when they host Rivier University at 1:00 PM.