STANDISH, ME – The 2014 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament bracket has been announced and Saint Joseph's College (10-7, 8-2 GNAC) has earned the #2 seed. The Monks will host #7 Johnson & Wales University (8-8, 5-5 GNAC) in a quarterfinal contest at 7:30 PM on Tuesday at Deering Memorial Stadium.
Top-seeded Emmanuel College (12-2, 10-0 GNAC is set to host #8 University of Saint Joseph (4-9, 3-7 GNAC) in a quarterfinal on Tuesday while other first-round matchups include #5 Rivier University (8-7, 6-4 GNAC) at #4 Lasell College (9-7, 7-3 GNAC) and #6 Simmons College (7-6, 6-4 GNAC) at #3 Norwich University (7-4, 7-3 GNAC).
All quarterfinal games will be played on Tuesday while the semifinal round is set for Thursday and the championship is scheduled for Saturday. The winner of the GNAC title earns an automatic qualifier into the NCAA DIII Women's Lacrosse Tournament.
Saint Joseph's, guided by second-year Head Coach Amanda Cahoon, is loaded with veteran experience and features skilled players on both ends of the field. With the corps of a 2013 team that posted the program's first postseason victory, a convincing 17-9 triumph over Emmanuel in a first-round contest, in the fold, the Monks look to make a lengthy postseason run. The group of eight seniors – a class that includes six starters and a duo that platoons in goal – has played a major role in the ascension of the seventh-year program and has aspirations of leaving collegiate lacrosse with an exclamation point.
Saint Joseph's features seven players with 10 or more goals on the season, a group led by GNAC leading scorer Cassie Diplock (Augusta, Maine), and fields a group of athletic midfielders and defenders, including senior Anneka Adame (San Diego, Calif.), who leads the team with 49 draw controls, and senior defender Rachelle Messuri (Atkinson, N.H.), the team-leader in ground balls (72) and caused turnovers (30).
Head Coach Caitlin Hansen has led Johnson & Wales to the postseason in the team's first year of existence as an NCAA varsity program. The Wildcats also field a balanced scoring attack with eight players having netted double-digit goal totals this season. The group of top scorers is led by freshman Lydia Knapp (Glens Falls, N.Y.), who has recorded 50 goals and 23 assists and ranks second in the conference with 73 total points this spring.
Saint Joseph's defeated Johnson & Wales, 10-7, in the only meeting between the conference counterparts this season, a game that was played at Deering Memorial Stadium on March 29th. Diplock scored a game-high six goals and Messuri added seven ground balls with six caused turnovers in the SJC victory. JWU keeper Genevieve Giampietro (Meriden, Conn.) posted 15 saves and Knapp tallied two goals and three helpers in the loss.
The victor of the Saint Joseph's / Johnson & Wales contest moves on to play the winner of the Norwich / Simmons matchup in a semifinal to be played on Thursday. The highest remaining seed hosts in each tournament game.
2014 GNAC WOMEN'S LACROSSE TOURNAMENT BRACKET:
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.