STANDISH, Maine – Johnson & Wales University (10-4, 8-1 GNAC) defeated Saint Joseph's College (11-4, 7-2 GNAC), 13-7, in a rematch of the 2022 and 2023 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's lacrosse championships at the SJC Athletics Complex on Thursday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The GNAC rivals sat at a 3-3 tie after senior defender Madison Scott (Cumberland, Maine) connected on a free-position shot with 1:56 left in the second quarter, but junior Madeleine Gould (Oakdale, Conn.) netted a man-down goal with 29 seconds before the break.
JWU senior Katie Sloan (Ellicott City, Md.) and SJC freshman Taylor Dumond (Minisink, N.Y.) swapped scores early in the third quarter to make it a 5-4 game, but the Wildcats pulled away with a 7-1 run, as junior Neely Connor (Kennebunk, Maine) scored a man-up free-position tally with 9:02 left to give her team a comfortable 12-5 advantage.
Senior Bridget Collins (Milford, Conn.) and sophomore Celia Melanson (Waterford, Conn.) hit pay dirt for the Monks in the closing three minutes, but the effort proved to be too little, too late.
TEAM STATS:
Johnson & Wales held the lead in shots (25-22), shots on goal (22-19), and ground balls (31-22) while the Monks recorded a 16-9 advantage in caused turnovers and both squads produced 12 draw controls.
THE KEEPERS:
SJC starter Alexis Eldridge (Effingham, N.H.) allowed six goals and made four saves in 33:20 minutes, junior Morgan Wright (Chelmsford, Mass.) posted one stop with two goals allowed in 6:16, and freshman Julia Price (Newbury, Mass.) registered four saves with five goals allowed in the closing 20:24 of play.
JWU junior goalie Emma Glyman (Tolland, Conn.) played very well in the victory with 12 saves and five ground balls in a complete-game performance.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Senior Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine) scored two goals with four ground balls, four draw controls, and a pair of caused turnovers
- Senior Heather Rohr (Merrimack, N.H.) tallied six ground balls, two draw controls, and four caused turnovers
- Scott chipped in with a goal, two ground balls, and a game-high six caused turnovers
LEADERS – JOHNSON & WALES:
- Senior Maris Dibeneditto (Southbury, Conn.) produced four goals on seven shots with three ground balls
- Sophomore Izzy Babb (Windham, Maine) scored two goals with two assists, three ground balls, and two caused turnovers
- Gould registered two goals, four assists, five draw controls, and two ground balls
- Sloan chipped in with two goals, an assist, five ground balls, and two draw controls
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the setback, Saint Joseph's falls to 6-7 all-time versus Johnson & Wales University and has now dropped three-consecutive games to the Wildcats.
NEXT!
The Monks will play at Norwich University on Saturday at 2:00 PM.
