2011 SEASON IN REVIEW
April 29, 2011
The Emmanuel College women's lacrosse team made school history in 2011 by entering into its inaugural season in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. Head Coach Amanda Laws had spent the previous year leading the club team and building the group from the ground up. By the time the team's first contest came around on March 17, the Saints had pieced together a roster of 16 student-athletes looking to make a name for Emmanuel in the conference.
The team opened the season at Regis College on St. Patrick's Day. Despite the 15-8 loss in the first game in team history, Emmanuel showed that it could not be taken lightly as a first-year program. Sophomore Madeline Leahy (Cohasset, Mass.) wrote her name in the record books by tallying the Saints' first goal in program history at the 26:39 mark of the first half. Leahy added another and junior Logan Carr (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) notched five scores while freshman Hillary Dandurant (Merrimac, Mass.) tallied eight saves on the day.
The Saints returned home for their second game of the season and the first lacrosse game ever hosted by Emmanuel College. The team battled a strong Rhode Island College squad, ultimately dropping a 15-4 contest to the Anchorwomen. Dandurant remained a strong force in net, stopping an impressive 12 shots while Leahy and Carr added two more goals each for the hosts. For her efforts, Carr earned conference recognition by being named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll on March 22, making her the first student-athlete in team history to obtain the honor.
The contest against Wheelock College on March 23 pitted two first-year programs against one another, both seeking their first wins in school history. In what may have been the most exciting game of the year, the Saints opened play with a 7-1 lead, only to see it evened up at 8-8 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game. The Saints and Wildcats continued to press forth with neither team breaking the deadlock. Just when it seemed that overtime was inevitable, freshman Jenny Konecnik (Sparta, N.J.) scored for the home team with 39 seconds left in the game to give the Saints their first win in team history.
Following the win over Wheelock, Emmanuel entered conference play against GNAC opponents. The Saints stood up against tough opponents in Mount Ida and Rivier College, but dropped both matches at home, 16-6 and 24-9 respectively. Following these losses, the women's lacrosse team headed back out on the road for only the second time in the season to take on local rival Emerson College before returning to campus and hosting top-ranked Norwich University. The Cadets proved why they were the team to beat in the GNAC, grabbing a 21-3 victory at Roberto Clemente Field.
The following Saturday, Emmanuel proved it was looking to right the ship when it took the field against Saint Joseph College (Conn.). Prior to the match, the Saints took a moment to honor the three seniors who had worked so hard in making this primary season memorable. Megan Clary (Woonsocket, R.I.), Megan Harrington (Leicester, Mass.) and Kristina Marik (Airmont, N.Y.) were recognized by their coaches, teammates and fans. Perhaps sparked by their senior leaders, the Saints jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first half and held a 12-1 edge at the break. Carr led the team with six goals and Marik held the top spot with three assists to boost the Saints to a 17-7 win.
Following a 17-11 loss to Saint Joseph's College, Emmanuel got back on the winning track on April 16 with a 14-7 win over Pine Manor College in Newton, Mass. The Saints got seven points (six goals and an assist) from Leahy while Marik added five goals and an assist for six points as the team grabbed its third win of the season. Following the game, Leahy became the second Emmanuel player to be named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll for her stand-up performance against Pine Manor.
The Saints closed out the regular season with two tough games against Lasell College and Simmons on April 21 and 23. Although Emmanuel played tough against both opponents, the Saints fell to both squads and finished the season with a 3-9 record overall, 2-7 in GNAC play.
Emmanuel was led statistically by Carr who led the team with 35 goals and 40 points for the year. Marik was tops on the squad with seven assists while Leahy was second on the team with 26 goals and 29 points. Dandurant stood strong in the net for the Saints in every game, making 113 saves for the year and tallying a .382 save percentage.
Carr also led the team with nine free-position goals and 37 draw controls. Freshman Michaela Brennan (Worcester, Mass.) was strong defensively, tallying 42 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers for the season.