PORTLAND, ME – Saint Joseph's (3-2, 1-1 GNAC) edged Emerson College (3-2, 3-1 GNAC), 8-6, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's lacrosse contest at Deering Memorial Stadium on Wednesday evening. Sophomore attacker Cassie Diplock (Augusta, Maine) netted five goals in the triumph.
With the help of three Diplock scores the Monks held a 5-2 advantage with 12:37 remaining in the first half. The Lions, ranked third in the GNAC Preseason Poll, managed to score three straight – including a Chelsea Phillips (Waterford, Conn.) buzzer-beater to close the half – to knot the contest at five-apiece heading into intermission.
Diplock kicked off the second-stanza scoring with her fourth goal of the game at the 23:50 mark of the latter frame and Emerson senior defender Kayla Dowd (Avon, Conn.) answered to make it a 6-6 contest with 18:57 remaining.
Dowd's goal would be the Lions' last however, as the Monks were able to keep the visitors off the board for the remainder of play. Senior midfielder Megan Cutter (Westbrook, Maine) put her team up with her second tally of the evening at the 9:17 mark and Diplock iced the SJC victory when she scored with 1:38 on the game clock.
Sophomore Elizabeth Giacchino (Melrose, Mass.), a field player as a freshman, was quite impressive in her first collegiate start in the cage, stopping 14 of the 20 shots she faced en route to claiming her first NCAA victory. Emerson junior keeper Emily Saeger (Center Valley, Pa.) also played well with 11 saves in the losing effort.
For the Monks, Cutter recorded two goals, an assist and five ground balls, freshman midfielder Kirstin McCombs (Lewiston, Maine) corralled a game-high eight ground balls, and junior Erika Waterhouse (South Portland, Maine) added eight shots in the victory.
For the Lions, Phillips scored two goals and grabbed six ground balls while Dowd, Mackenzie Johnson (Pasadena, Md.), Tracie Lombardo (Seaford, N.Y.), and Macy Day (Rochester, N.H.) all chipped in with a goal apiece on the evening.
Saint Joseph's held a 40-31 advantage in ground balls and was a perfect 25-25 in clear attempts in the conference triumph. For St. Joe's, the win over Emerson is the first in program history. Prior to this evening the Monks had fallen short in all six meetings with the Lions.
Saint Joseph's resumes conference play when the team hosts Simmons College at Deering Memorial Stadium on Friday in a contest scheduled to begin under the lights at 7:30 PM. Emerson hosts Norwich University on Saturday in a GNAC match slated to start at 12:00 PM.
