PORTLAND, Maine – Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (16-2, 9-0 GNAC) routed #8 Norwich University (6-10, 3-6 GNAC), 18-6, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament Quarterfinal at Deering Memorial Stadium on Tuesday night.

THE LEAD

Saint Joseph's opened the game with three goals in the first seven minutes – including a pair from junior Kelsey Dumond (Lewiston, Maine) – and forced running time when senior Elizabeth Elcock (Westwood, Mass.) netted her second of three first-half goals, making it a 12-2 game with 5:20 before the break. With the game well at hand, the Monks edged the Cadets in the second stanza by a 5-4 margin to account for the 18-6 final.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's – the reigning GNAC Champions – remain on track to defend the conference crown and will face #4 Lasell College in a rematch of the 2015 GNAC Championship in a conference semifinal at 8:00 PM on Thursday at Deering Memorial Stadium. For Norwich, the loss signals the end of the 2016 season.

In other GNAC Quarterfinal action tonight, #4 Lasell handled #5 Simmons College, 15-5, #2 Emmanuel College skated past #7 Mount Ida College, 17-5, and #3 Johnson & Wales topped #6 Rivier. Emmanuel is set to host Johnson & Wales in the semifinal round on Thursday evening.

SJC HIGHLIGHTS

• Junior Jackie Wilson (Tiverton, R.I.) tallied four goals, two assists, two ground balls, eight draw controls, and four caused turnovers
• Sophomore Elyse Caiazzo (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) registered four goals, two assists, three ground balls, four draw controls, and a pair of caused turnovers
• Elcock produced four goals and two assists with three ground balls
• Senior Mary Leasure (South Portland, Maine/McAuley) tied a program single-game record with seven assists and collected three ground balls
• Dumond recorded three goals and an assist with two ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers
• Senior Kat Gadbois (Scarborough, Maine) netted a hat trick with three ground balls and four draw controls

NORWICH HIGHLIGHTS

• Junior Chapel Guarnieri (Pepperell, Mass.) scored three goals with two ground balls and three draw controls
• Kathryn Albretsen (Cotuit, Mass.), Larissa Gokey (St. Johnsbury, Vt.), and Holly Lutz (Hamburg, N.J.) also scored in the losing effort
• Junior defender Kasey Jacobs (Killingworth, Conn.) picked up four ground balls

THE KEEPERS

• SJC senior Michelle Cunha (Enfield, Conn.) made four stops to pick up the victory
• Norwich freshman Janice Bolton (Stow, Mass.) tallied eight saves and corralled six ground balls in the loss

TEAM STATS

Saint Joseph's held the advantage in shots (32-11), ground balls (23-17), draw controls (17-9), turnovers (13-19), and caused turnovers (14-5) on the evening. The Monks successfully cleared the ball out of their defensive end on seven of eight tries, while the Cadets went 4-17 on clearing attempts.

#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.