STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (9-6, 7-3 GNAC) coasted past Rivier University (3-11, 2-8 GNAC), 16-4, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's lacrosse matchup on Friday afternoon at the SJC Athletics Complex.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks opened the gates early with four unanswered goals in the first 8:07 of play. Sophomore Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine) hit pay-dirt twice in the early run and senior Kayla Kelly (York, Maine) netted three goals in the first half to help the hosts claim an 8-2 lead heading into intermission.
Junior Maddy Beaulieu (West Gardiner, Maine) and sophomore Josie Ring (Newfield, Maine) scored in the first five minutes of the second stanza to lift the Royal Blue to a 10-2 cushion. The Raiders showed signs of life with goals from Amy Eacho (Kingston, N.H.) and Marin Owens (Brookline, N.H.) over a four-minute span, but the Monks closed out the contest with six-consecutive goals to account for the 16-4 final.
SENIOR MOMENT:
Prior to the start of the contest Saint Joseph's held a brief ceremony to honor the program's three seniors: Kayla Kelly, Kara Kelly (York, Maine), and Brittney Arsenault (Westbrook, Maine). During their time on the turf, this senior trio has helped the Monks post a 49-19 (.721) overall record, including a 31-7 (.816) mark in GNAC play, with three conference tournament appearances.
THE KEEPERS:
Saint Joseph's freshman Madelyn Nelson (Casco, Maine) turned away seven of the 11 shots she faced in the victory while her counterpart, Rivier senior Courtney Laperriere (Keene, N.H.), made 13 saves in the losing effort.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held the lead in turnovers (18-31), draw controls (13-10), shots (38-17) and ground balls (44-27).
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Kayla Kelly led the way with four goals, eight ground balls, four draw controls and three caused turnovers
- Ring contributed with three goals on only three shots
- Dexter added a pair of goals, an assist, four ground balls and two draw controls
- Beaulieu notched two goals, five assists, two ground balls and a draw control
LEADERS – RIVIER:
- Owens had a goal and an assist with three ground balls, six draw controls and a caused turnover
- Senior Ashley Leal (Tyngsboro, Mass.) chipped in with a goal, an assist, two draw controls and a ground ball
- Eacho produced a goal and five ground balls
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
Saint Joseph's is now 9-2 all-time versus Rivier University has defeated the Raiders in eight-consecutive contests tracking back to 2012.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host Lasell College in a conference matchup to complete their regular season on April 24th. Opening face-off is scheduled for 6:00 PM.