PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Johnson & Wales University (10-2, 10-0 GNAC) scored three unanswered goals in the fourth quarter to defeat Saint Joseph's College (11-3, 9-1 GNAC), 11-9, in a rematch of the 2022 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's lacrosse championship on Saturday afternoon.
For the Monks, the loss signals the end of a 23-game regular season GNAC win streak. Today's setback is the Monks' first GNAC regular season loss since Saint Joseph's suffered a 12-11 overtime loss at JWU on April 17th, 2021.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
St. Joe's faced a 3-1 deficit midway through the first quarter, but netted four straight markers and held a 5-3 lead after grad student Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine) netted her 60th goal of the year with 7:42 left in the second stanza.
The Monks maintained the lead until the Wildcats pocketed three of the first four goals in the third quarter, as a Madeleine Gould free-position tally tied the game at 8-8 with 4:30 left in the period. Junior Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine) lifted her team to a 9-8 edge with her 31st goal of the season at the 1:48 mark.
Unfortunately for Saint Joseph's, the Battaglia strike would be the visitors' last of the afternoon, as Johnson & Wales received goals from Taina Gamory, Margaret Johnson, and Isabella Nugent while holding the Monks off the board during the final 15 minutes to secure the 11-9 triumph.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (31-27), shots on goal (24-15), ground balls (32-25), caused turnovers (12-11), and draw controls (13-11) in the losing effort.
THE KEEPERS:
SJC freshman starter Alexis Eldridge (Effingham, N.H.) made four saves in the setback while her counterpart, JWU netminder Emma Glyman, turned away 15 shots for the Wildcats.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Sophomore Shauna Clark (Oakland, Maine) tallied two goals, two assists, and two draw controls
- Sophomore Mackenzie Siebert (Naples, Maine) netted three goals with five ground balls
- Dexter scored two goals with an assist, three ground balls, and a pair of draw controls
- Battaglia added two goals and an assist with four ground balls and eight draw controls
- Junior Bridget Collins (Milford, Conn.) chipped in with a pair of assists
- Junior Heather Rohr (Merrimack, N.H.) picked up five ground balls and four caused turnovers
LEADERS – JOHNSON & WALES:
- Gould tallied three goals with an assist, four ground balls, and two caused turnovers
- Johnson added three goals with two ground balls, seven draw controls, and a pair of caused turnovers
- Gamory chipped in with two goals, three ground balls, two draw controls, and two caused turnovers
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 6-5 all-time versus Johnson & Wales University, a team the Monks defeated by a 10-9 score in the 2022 GNAC Championship, which was held at the SJC Athletics Complex on May 7th, 2022.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's plays another conference powerhouse on Wednesday when the Monks travel to Boston to face off against GNAC unbeaten Simmons University in a 7:00 PM start.
