STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (13-3, 11-1 GNAC) cruised past University of Saint Joseph (9-7, 5-7 GNAC), 14-3, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's lacrosse contest at the SJC Athletics Complex on Saturday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Blue Jays opened the game scoring at the 12:46 mark of the first quarter, when junior attack Lauryn Wilks (Hartford, Conn.) found the back of the net off a Tatiana Bilbraut (Hartford, Conn.) pass.
The Monks did not answer until over four minutes later, when grad student Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine) and junior Bridget Collins (Milford, Conn.) combined to score six times during an 8-0 scoring burst spanning eight minutes. Sophomores Mackenzie Siebert (Naples, Maine) and Shauna Clark (Oakland, Maine) closed out the run with goals at the 11:30 and 8:48 marks of the second stanza, respectively.
USJ countered the SJC outburst with a pair of tallies in a matter of 72 seconds, as senior Makenzie Dinger (Hingham, Mass.) netted a man-down marker and Wilks added her second score of the evening to make it an 8-3 game with 6:52 before the break.
Dexter closed out the first half scoring with her fourth goal of the game 30 seconds later as the hosts held a 9-3 advantage heading into intermission.
The third period saw plenty of midfield play as neither team managed to score until the quarter's closing 30 seconds, when Clark added a man-up goal and Dexter scored as time expired to extend the SJC lead to 11-3.
In the fourth frame, juniors Megan Mourmouras (Biddeford, Maine) and Teegan Gilreath (Lowell, Mass) both hit pay dirt and Dexter capped the game scoring with her sixth tally of the contest with 5:41 on the clock.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held advantages in shots (41-12), shots on goal (31-9), ground balls (32-17), draw controls (18-2), and caused turnovers (17-14) in tonight's victory.
THE KEEPERS:
Saint Joseph's split time in the cage, as freshman starter Alexis Eldridge (Effingham, N.H.) allowed three goals and made five saves in the first half and sophomore Morgan Wright (Chelmsford, Mass.) made one save in 30 shutout minutes in the second stanza.
USJ freshman keeper Colleen Stringer (Point Lookout, N.Y.) made 17 stops in the losing bid.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Dexter tallied six goals, four assists, four ground balls, and four draw controls
- Collins netted three goals on seven shots
- Clark recorded two goals and an assist
- Siebert and Gilreath notched a goal and an assist apiece
- Junior midfielder Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine) picked up four ground balls, 10 draw controls, and one caused turnover
- Junior Heather Rohr (Merrimack, N.H.) registered six ground balls and six caused turnovers
- Junior Madison Scott (Cumberland, Maine) added five ground balls with four caused turnovers
LEADERS – UNIVERSITY OF SAINT JOSEPH:
- Wilks scored twice on five shots
- Dinger added a goal, four ground balls, and four caused turnovers
- Graduate Ashley Rufo (Pittsfield, Mass.) produced five ground balls and five caused turnovers
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 14-0 all-time versus the University of Saint Joseph.
SENIOR MOMENT:
Prior to the start of the first game the SJC women's lacrosse program held a brief ceremony to honor the team's three seniors: Hannah Flaherty (Waltham, Mass.), Samantha Magill (Glocester, R.I.), and Tara Powers (Tyngsboro, Mass.). The players' parents and close family members joined the team on the field for photos and a brief statement.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's closes out the regular season at home on Wednesday with a 6:00 PM GNAC contest versus Colby-Sawyer College.
