PORTLAND, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (12-2, 6-0 GNAC) routed Emmanuel College (9-3, 6-1 GNAC), 19-6, in a battle of previously unbeaten Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's lacrosse teams at Deering Memorial Stadium on Tuesday evening.
THE LEAD
Leading 3-2 with 21 minutes left in the first half, the Monks took control of the highly anticipated matchup by netting five unanswered goals, as junior Kelsey Dumond (Lewiston, Maine) bookended the outbreak with strikes at the 20:46 and 9:56 marks to extend the hosts' cushion to 7-2. During the remainder of the first half, Emmanuel senior Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) and SJC senior Elizabeth Elcock (Westwood, Mass.) swapped scores to make it an 8-3 game heading into intermission.
Looking to mount a comeback, the Saints received an early second-half goal from junior Emily Baker (Stratham, N.H.), who streaked up field after a face-off win and scored just 11 seconds into the latter stanza. St. Joe's proceeded to settle in and scored six of the game's subsequent seven goals and held a 14-5 cushion with 15 minutes left.
With ample time remaining, Emmanuel senior Kristen Tuleja (Mansfield, Mass.) netted her third goal of the night on a free-position attempt at the 14:15 mark, but Saint Joseph's closed the door by netting five straight tallies over the closing 12 minutes of play.
THE KEEPERS
For Saint Joseph's, senior goalie Michelle Cunha (Enfield, Conn.) made six saves to pick up her 11th win of the season. Emmanuel senior Lauren White (Lynnfield, Mass.) faced 22 shots and made three stops in the losing effort.
SJC HIGHLIGHTS
- Senior Kat Gadbois (Scarborough, Maine) tallied five goals, three assists, and nine draw controls
- Sophomore Elyse Caiazzo (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) netted six goals with three ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers
- Dumond chipped in with three goals, two assists, and three ground balls
- Elcock scored a pair of goals with two ground balls
- Leasure added a goal and two assists
- Junior Jackie Wilson (Tiverton, R.I.) contributed a goal with three ground balls, four draw controls, and two caused turnovers
EMMANUEL HIGHLIGHTS
- Tuleja led the Saints' offense with three goals and added three draw controls and two ground balls
- Higgins chipped in with a goal, an assist, and five ground balls
- Baker scored a goal and added an assist
- Junior Savannah Lundwall (Fiskdale, Mass.) scored and recorded five draw controls
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 7-2 all-time versus Emmanuel College and has now defeated the Saints in three-consecutive meetings. Tonight's winning margin is the largest posted by either team in the history of the matchup.
NEXT!
Both teams face GNAC opponents on the road on Saturday, when Saint Joseph's plays at University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) in a 2:00 PM start and Emmanuel travels to Rivier University for a game starting at 1:00 PM.
#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.
