SAINTS ADVANCE TO GNAC CHAMPIONSHIP; CAREY NETS OT GAME-WINNER IN 1-0 WIN OVER JWU

PROVIDENCE, RI – Junior midfielder Maggie Carey (Swampscott, Mass.) buried a shot from 15 yards out in 97^th minute of play to give the third-seeded Emmanuel College women's soccer team a 1-0 overtime victory over the second-seeded Johnson & Wales University Wildcats in Tuesday evening's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) semifinal match.

The win was the second one-goal overtime victory of the year for Emmanuel over Johnson & Wales as the Saints topped the Wildcats 2-1 in OT back on Sept. 10.

Johnson & Wales had a decisive 22-13 advantage in shots, including a flurry during the final minutes of regulation. Emmanuel goalkeeper Victoria LaRoche (Hudson, N.H.) (11-8-2) turned away two shots from Taylor Hopkins (Warminster, Pa.) and another from Kyra Selner (Sterling, Va.) in the final 66 seconds of the second period. LaRoche has not allowed a goal in 486 minutes of action and is now 43:33 shy of breaking her own program record of consecutive scoreless minutes in goal which she set earlier this season.

Of JWU's 22 shots, only six were on goal, compared to seven of 13 shots on goal for the Saints. Wildcat goalkeeper Alex Place (East Greenwich, RI) took the loss as her record falls to 11-6-1.

Even though the season ends for the Wildcats, it was a remarkable run by a team picked to finish seventh in the preseason coaches' poll. First-year head coach Chris Flint turned around a program that was coming off three-straight losing seasons to post a 12-8-1 final record.

Emmanuel improves to 11-8-2 on the year and is now 8-1-2 over the last 11 matches. The Saints will face top-seeded Lasell College on Saturday for the GNAC Championship in a rematch of the 2014 title game. The Lasers advanced to the finals after a 0-0 draw with University of Saint Joseph (CT) was decided in penalty kicks in which Lasell edged the Bluejays, 6-5 in eight rounds. 

*Some release content provided by JWU Sports Information Dept.