NEWPORT, RI – The St. Joe's Women's Lacrosse team fell to 10-3-1 on the year with a 23-10 loss to Salve Regina University (4-9) on Monday afternoon. Alyssa Marchant (Wakefield, MA) netted five goals in the losing effort.

Senior Nicole Viola (Scarborough, Maine) scored five goals to lead Salve Regina over Saint Joseph's in the non-conference contest at the Lawrence Avenue field. Seniors Sarah Baker (Summit, N.J.) and Erika Curtin (Huntington, N.Y.), along with sophomore Rebecca Simmons (Averill Park, N.Y.), each added four goals for the Seahawks, who won for the third time in their last five contests and improved to 4-9 on the season. 

The Seahawks outshot the Monks 20-12 in the first half and took a 12-7 lead into the break. Starting with a goal by Baker with 8:40 remaining that evened the score at five, the Seahawks closed the half by scoring seven of the next nine goals, including two from Curtin. The teams traded the first four goals of the second half before Salve Regina ripped off nine in a row – including three from Viola – to put the game away.

“We had a breakout game and had some players step up for us,” said Salve Regina head coach Jen Eldridge. “Rachel Porter played a great game back on defense and Hannah McAvoy had a breakout game on attack. It's good to see players contributing and having a balanced attack. We needed this game going into the remaining conference games that we have.”

The aforementioned McAvoy (Saco, Maine) scored her first three goals of the season and also dished out an assist for Salve Regina while classmate Kelly Burke (Georgetown, Mass.) also chipped in with three goals and a helper. Baker racked up three assists, freshman Danielle Malconian (Belmont, Mass.) collected a team-high seven ground balls, and both Baker and Porter (Franklin, Mass.) each caused five turnovers. Sophomore Natalie Balletta (Leominster, Mass.) stopped five shots to earn her fourth win of the season.

For the Monks, senior Lauren Hagerman (Scarborough, Maine) and sophomore Amelia Santos (Beverly, Mass.) each potted two goals while freshman Erika Waterhouse (South Portland, Maine) added a goal and an assist. Sophomore Taylor Allison (Pawtucket, R.I.) made 18 saves in goal.

The Seahawks outshot the Monks 44-18 on the afternoon and held them to a 29.2 success rate on clears (7-for-24). SRU also held an 18-7 edge in ground balls and won 20 of the 35 draw controls.

Salve Regina returns to action on Wednesday when they travel to Endicott for a 4 p.m. contest. The Monks begin the GNAC playoffs this Wednesday.

COURTESY OF SALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION