WOMEN'S LACROSSE GNAC TOURNEY PREVIEW: #5 EMMANUEL VS. #4 MOUNT IDA
NEWTON, Mass. – The 2017 Mount Ida College women's lacrosse team has rewritten the record books this season and now will turn their attention to another first – hosting the first postseason game in program history. The fourth seeded Mustangs will entertain #5 Emmanuel College on Wednesday at 4:00 pm in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) quarterfinals game at Alumni Field.
NEWTON, Mass. – The 2017 Mount Ida College women's lacrosse team has rewritten the record books this season and now will turn their attention to another first – hosting the first postseason game in program history. The fourth seeded Mustangs will entertain #5 Emmanuel College on Wednesday at 4:00 pm in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) quarterfinals game at Alumni Field.
The Mustangs (13-4, 6-3 GNAC) set new records for wins, conference wins and winning percentage, while blowing away the single-season marks for points, goals, assists, save percentage and goals against average. Along the way, the Mustangs have ripped off a record seven-game winning streak.
Scouting the Mustangs
Mount Ida has been led all season by Alyssa Kelly (Lee, Mass.), sophomore attack who is currently ranked fifth in the country with 73 goals and eighth in the nation with 98 points, both of which lead the GNAC. Kelly reached the 100 goal mark midway through her sophomore season and was named Mount Ida Female Athlete of the Year at last night's Mighty Awards.
Sophomore transfer Brooke Scahill (Ledyard, Conn.) has been a revelation, ranking 30th in the country and leading the conference with 5.41 draw controls per game while also ranking 3rd in the GNAC with 69 points and fourth in the conference with 49 goals.
Also in the top ten in scoring is junior Emily McConnell (Dracut, Mass.), who had 41 goals and 58 points.
In net for Mount Ida, freshman Jessica Henry (Wilbraham, Mass.) has posted a .509 save percentage and an 8.32 goals against average, both of which are good for 2nd in the GNAC. Junior Eleanor Garvey (Elkridge, Md.) has also performed well, posting a 6.92 goals against average in 13 games played, though she doesn't qualify for conference consideration in just under 400 minutes of action.
Scouting the Saints
Emmanuel (6-9, 5-4 GNAC) has had an up and down season. They began the year dropping their first five games, and then alternated wins and losses for nine straight games during the month of April.
Offensively for the Saints, Savannah Lundwall (Fiskdale, Mass.) has scored 34 goals in her senior season, while fellow senior Emily Baker (Stratham, N.H.) has tallied 22 assists and leads the team with 51 points.
Sophomore goalie Bethany Bonilla-Colon (Milton, Mass.) has made 132 saves, allowed 10.83 goals against, and has a 5-9 record between the pipes for the Saints.
Series and Postseason History
This year's 16-4 win for Mount Ida in Boston on April 8th was their first victory in the last seven times out since 2012. The teams will meet for the third consecutive year in the first round of the GNAC playoffs, albeit for the first time in Newton, with Emmanuel winning 22-6 in 2015 and 17-5 a year ago. The Saints are now 6-3 all-time against Mount Ida and the Mustangs are 1-2 at home in the all-time series.
Mount Ida's lone postseason win in program history came in 2011, when they defeated Simmons College 9-8 to advance to their only semifinals appearance.
Emmanuel won the GNAC championship in 2014, and for the past two years has ended Mount Ida's season before falling in the semifinal round, once to Johnson & Wales and once to Saint Joseph's (ME).
How to Watch
Live Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/mountida/
Live Stats: http://www.mountidamustangs.com/sports/wlax/2016-17/boxscores/20170503_0vu2.xml
*Release courtesy of Mount Ida College Sports Information