BATH, Maine – Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (15-1, 9-0 GNAC) toppled #8 Rivier University (4-13, 3-6 GNAC), 21-5, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament Quarterfinal played at McMann Field on Wednesday evening. Junior midfielder Kat Gadbois (Scarborough, Maine) scored a career-high eight goals with a pair of assists in the playoff victory.
With the triumph, Saint Joseph's – which has now won 15 consecutive games - advances to the second round of the conference tourney for the third season in a row and will host #4 Emmanuel College in a GNAC Tournament Semifinal at Scarborough High School at 7:30 PM on Friday. Emmanuel, which defeated Saint Joseph's in the GNAC Championship game last spring, topped #5 Mount Ida College, 22-6, in other quarterfinal action tonight.
For Rivier University, the loss signals the end of the 2015 season.
Saint Joseph's jumped out to an early lead, as junior Elizabeth Elcock (Westwood, Mass.) scored off a Gadbois pass just 1:27 into the game and sophomore Kelsey Dumond (Lewiston, Maine) her 24th marker of the season two minutes later, lifting the Royal Blue to a 2-0 cushion with 26:26 remaining in the first half.
The Raiders responded by netting half of the following four goals during the subsequent six minutes, as sophomore midfielder Amanda Wickens (Tyngsboro, Mass.) and junior midfielder Jocelyn Park (Londonderry, N.H.) scored to offset SJC goals potted by Lizzie Calnan (Westport, Mass.) and Elcock, making it a 4-2 game with 20:06 to play in the opening frame.
The conference counterparts traded goals during a seven-minute span, as Gadbois lifted the hosts to a 5-2 lead with her first marker of the evening, scored at the 16:43 mark. Wickens found the back of the cage with a free-position shot with 12:09 left in the first half and Monks junior defender Meghan Williams (Greenland, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas) answered with her sixth tally of the year 15 seconds later. Raiders junior midfielder Paxton LaRocque (Londonderry, N.H.) cut the Raiders' deficit back down to two (6-4) with a man-up goal, which was set up by a Savannah Neuwirt (Newbury, N.H.) at the 9:38 mark.
Rivier would get no closer to the lead however, as the Monks rattled off 15 unanswered goals en route to posting a convincing playoff victory. Gadbois, who kicked off the offensive outburst at the 8:55 mark, scored two while Dumond and freshman Elyse Caiazzo (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) both tickled the twine in the final nine minutes of the first half to provide St. Joe's with a 10-4 advantage heading into intermission.
The scoring barrage continued in the second stanza, as Gadbois netted a pair in the first four minutes and Calnan, Caiazzo and sophomore Jackie Wilson (Tiverton, R.I.) slipped shots past Rivier senior goalie Mackenzie Flagg (Shirley, Mass.) to extend the SJC cushion to 15-4 with 22:53 left.
In the closing 18 minutes, Gadbois scored three times while Caiazzo, Dumond and Calnan added single goals to cap the night's scoring for the Monks. LaRocque broke the Monks' offensive streak and closed out the game scoring with a goal off a Veronica Jones (West Chesterfield, N.H.) pass with 1:45 left, accounting for the 21-5 final.
For the Monks, junior attack Mary Leasure (South Portland, Maine/McAuley) dealt five assists with four ground balls and three caused turnovers, Caiazzo tallied three goals and an assist with seven ground balls and four draw controls, and Wilson contributed a goal and an assist with seven ground balls, 11 draw controls and three caused turnovers in the victory. Dumond and Calnan scored three goals apiece and Elcock added two markers and an assist with three ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.
For the Raiders, LaRocque netted a pair of goals with an assist and three ground balls, Wickens scored twice with three ground balls and three draw controls, and sophomore defender Shae O'Connell (Bridgewater, Mass.) chipped in with three ground balls in the losing effort.
In goal, SJC junior Michelle Cunha (Enfield, Conn.) made a pair of saves while Flagg posted 16 stops for Rivier.
Overall, Saint Joseph's held noticeable advantages in shots (40-12), ground balls (35-23) and draw controls (19-6) while hitting pay dirt on six of nine free-position shots on the evening.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 5-2 in the history of the series with Rivier University and has now defeated the Raiders in four-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2013 campaign.
In other GNAC Tournament Quarterfinal action around the conference this evening, #3 Johnson & Wales University defeated #6 Simmons College, 15-9, and #2 Lasell College toppled #7 Norwich University, 18-6. Lasell will host Johnson & Wales in the other arm of the conference bracket at 3:30 PM on Friday.
The winners of the Saint Joseph's/Emmanuel and Lasell/Johnson & Wales semifinal contests will meet in the GNAC Championship on Sunday, April 26th. The highest remaining seed will host the title bout and the winner of the 2015 GNAC Championship earns an automatic berth into the NCAA DIII Women's Lacrosse Tournament, which begins on Wednesday, May 6th.
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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 474-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.
