STANDISH, Maine – Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (15-1, 9-0 GNAC) will host #4 Emmanuel College (12-3, 6-3 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament Semifinal contest tonight at 8:00 PM at Scarborough High School.
Both teams are vying for an opportunity to challenge for the eighth GNAC Women's Lacrosse Championship, a contest that will be hosted by the highest remaining seed on Sunday. The GNAC began sponsoring in the spring of 2008 and the winner of the conference title match earns an automatic berth into the NCAA DIII National Tournament, which begins on Wednesday, May 6th.
What have you done lately?
Saint Joseph's enters tonight's contest riding a 15-game win streak, the longest string of victories in team history, and has not suffered a setback since falling to University of New England, 15-12, in the season-opener on March 1st. Saint Joseph's routed #8 Rivier University, 21-5, in a GNAC Tournament Quarterfinal on Wednesday night.
The Monks recorded three close victories in the final weeks of the season, tipping Emmanuel, 7-6, on April 6th before edging Johnson & Wales University, 11-8, and Simmons College, 17-15 in OT, on April 11th and 18th, respectively.
The Monks currently lead the conference in goals (254), assists (125), goals per game (15.88), shots (542), shots on goal (429), caused turnovers (209) and goals against average (6.89). St. Joe's has already shattered the program's single-season records for goals, assists and points and ranks nationally in win percentage (3rd, .938), fifth in ground balls per game (30.44), seventh in scoring margin (8.94), 10th in caused turnovers (13.06) and 12th in scoring defense (6.89).
Emmanuel, the reigning conference champion, goes into tonight's semifinal having won four-consecutive games and 10 of the last 12 overall, with narrow setbacks versus the Monks and the Lasers of Lasell College the only hiccups on the Saints' docket since late March. Emmanuel toppled #5 Mount Ida College, 22-6, in other GNAC quarterfinal action on Wednesday night to advance to the second round of the tourney.
The Saints currently lead the GNAC in shooting percentage (48.2%) and fewest goals allowed (105) and rank second in assists (109), goals per game (14.4), caused turnovers (208) and goals against average (7.00).
Emmanuel ranks fourth in NCAA DIII in caused turnovers per game (13.87) and 14th in scoring defense (7.00).
Who to watch – Saint Joseph's
The Monks feature seven players with at least 30 points this spring, an impressive group led by freshman attack Elyse Caiazzo (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus), who has netted 59 goals with 18 assists for 77 total points.
Junior attack Mary Leasure (South Portland, Maine/McAuley) leads the GNAC with a team-record 42 assists and has scored 26 goals to account for a total of 68 points while junior midfielder Kat Gadbois (Scarborough, Maine) has recorded 41 goals and 20 assists for 61 points while picking up a conference-high 82 ground balls.
Junior attack Elizabeth Elcock (Westwood, Mass.) (36-6-421), senior midfielder Lizzie Calnan (Westport, Mass.) (27-12-39), sophomore attack Kelsey Dumond (Lewiston, Maine) (26-8-34) and sophomore midfielder Jackie Wilson (Tiverton, R.I.) (21-12-33) round out the Monks' well-rounded offensive attack.
In the win over Rivier, Gadbois scored a career-high eight goals with a pair of assists while Caiazzo, Dumond and Calnan netted three markers apiece and Leasure dealt five assists in the lopsided triumph.
Who to watch – Emmanuel:
Six Emmanuel players enter tonight's contest with at least 24 points to their credit, a list topped by junior midfielder Kristen Tuleja (Mansfield, Mass.), who has netted 49 goals with 19 assists for 68 total points through 15 games. Senior midfielder Sarah Wootten (Berlin, Md.) is the Saints' top playmaker, with a team-high 37 assists to go with 20 goals for 57 total points, and sophomore attack Emily Baker (Stratham, N.H.) has contributed 28 goals and nine assists for 37 points on the season.
Junior midfielder Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) (24-12-36), senior midfielder Alexia Basile (West Hartford, Conn.) (14-11-25) and senior attack Madison Altwies (Southington, Conn.) (22-2-24) round out the visitors' top scorers. Junior goalie Lauren White (Lynnfield, Mass.) is one of the top keepers in the conference, with a 7.00 goals against average and a 48.8% save percentage while logging every minute (900) in goal for the Saints this spring.
Attitude reflects leadership:
Head Coach Rupert Lewis, the first head coach in Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse history, played a significant role in lifting the former club program to NCAA DIII varsity status, as the Monks played under his watch during the squad's inaugural season (2008). In two years at the helm for the fledgling program, Lewis posted an 11-16 record, including a 5-6 mark in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play, with conference tournament appearances both years.
The most successful skipper in SJC field hockey history, Lewis owns a 114-67 (.630) career record and led the Monks to four conference championship appearances along with a 45-8 (.849) in-conference mark over the last six seasons.
Liz Goddard joined the Emmanuel coaching staff in the Fall of 2011 as the Assistant Coach for the Saints Women's Lacrosse Program. Coach Goddard was an Assistant Coach for the Saints for two seasons, helping to lead EC to a GNAC Tournament appearance in 2013. She was promoted to Head Coach prior to the start of the 2014 campaign and took over the helm of the young program in its fourth varsity season.
Goddard's first season as a head coach was an impressive one, as she led Emmanuel to its first-ever GNAC Championship and to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2014. With not one senior on her squad Goddard and the Saints cruised through regular season GNAC competition, boasting an undefeated 10-0 mark, before taking all three GNAC play-off wins, en route to the program's inaugural national tournament appearance. Under Goddard's direction, the Saints finished the year with an overall record of 15-3 and Goddard was voted the 2014 GNAC Coach of the Year.
The last time we met:
Saint Joseph's defeated Emmanuel, 7-6, in a rematch of the 2014 GNAC Championship in Boston on April 6th. The Monks trailed by a 5-1 margin at halftime, but netted four unanswered goals to start the second stanza and Gadbois and Wilson both scored and St. Joe's held Emmanuel off the board in the final eight minutes to clinch the one-goal triumph.
Historically speaking:
Saint Joseph's is 5-2 all-time versus Emmanuel College, with both losses at the hands of the Saints coming last season. The Monks recorded the program's first-ever postseason victory with a 17-9 GNAC Tournament Quarterfinal win over the Saints in a game played at Scarborough High School exactly two years ago today.
#GOMONKS
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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.
