STANDISH, Maine – #3 Saint Joseph's College (11-8, 8-3 GNAC) will host #6 Lasell University (10-7, 7-4 GNAC) in a 2022 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Field Hockey Tournament Quarterfinal at 11:00 AM on Saturday, October 29th.
BRACKETOLOGY:
Quarterfinals - Saturday, October 29
#8 USJ (CT) at #1 JWU - 12PM
#5 Rivier at #4 Colby-Sawyer - 12PM
#6 Lasell at #3 Saint Joseph's Maine - 11AM
#7 Anna Maria at #2 Simmons - 11AM
Semifinals - Wednesday, November 2
4/5 winner vs 1v8 winner
3/6 winner vs 2/7 winner
Championship - Saturday, November 5
Final at highest remaining seed
TEAM STATISTICS IN GNAC PLAY:
RANDOM FACTS:
- Saint Joseph's is 7-5 at home while Lasell is 4-5 on the road this fall
- The Monks and Lasers are both 3-3 in their last six games
- St. Joe's is 15-0 all-time versus Lasell in home contests
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Saint Joseph's:
- Freshman forward Maya Waryas (Bellows Falls, Vt.) leads the Monks in goals (22), points (47), game-winners (6), shots (110), and shots on goal (73); she has been named as the GNAC Rookie of the week three times this fall and tied the Monks' single-season goals record as a freshman
- Senior midfielder Aimee Adams (Gardiner, Maine) is second on the team in goals (11) and points (27)
- Seniors Alexa Gutowski (North Conway, N.H.), Molly McCluskey (Orono, Maine), and Megan Quirion (Oakland, Maine) have combined to net 22 goals with 28 assists for 72 total points this season; Gutowski is second on the team in goals (12) and McCluskey leads the GNAC in assists (15)
- Senior defender Morgan Dalton (Livermore Falls, Maine) leads the conference with nine defensive saves and has also scored four goals this year
Lasell:
- Junior forward Lily Stark (Saco, Maine) leads the Lasers in goals (22), assists (8), points (52), shots (110), shots on goal (76), and game-winning goals (5)
- Senior forward Sheridan Blaha (Waltham, Mass.) has tallied 18 goals and four assists for 40 total points
- Senior defender Sage Dodier (Amesbury, Mass.) and sophomore forward Caitlyn Smith (Newington, Conn.) have netted three goals apiece
KEEPER COMPARISON:
Saint Joseph's sophomore Kassidy Collins (Gardiner, Maine) leads the conference in games (18) and minutes (1055) and ranks second in shutouts (4), third in save percentage (.788), fourth in saves (134), and fifth in goals against average (2.05).
Lasell sophomore netminder Courtney Tello (Nashua, N.H.) is sixth in the GNAC in saves (99) and save percentage (.767) and seventh in goals against average (2.56).
THE SKIPPERS:
Saint Joseph's: Rupert Lewis – 18th season – 218-106 (.673)
Lasell: Jess Paulin - 1st season - 10-7 (.588)
THE LAST TIME WE MET:
Lasell capped the 2022 regular season with a 2-1 overtime victory over the Monks on Wednesday. The Lasers snapped a scoreless tie with three seconds left in the third quarter when Madison Raymond hit pay dirt. The Monks tied the contest at the 54:15 mark when Waryas scored off an Adams assist.
Blaha netted the game-winner 2:45 into the first OT period. Saint Joseph's held narrow leads in shots (12-11) and penalty corners (7-5) while Lasell posted a 9-6 edge in shots on goal on the evening.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With Wednesday's loss Saint Joseph's fell to 22-5 in the history of the series with Lasell University, a team the Monks had defeated in seven-consecutive meetings prior to the 2-1 setback.
POSTSEASON HISTORY:
The Monks, winners of the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 conference crowns, have never missed the postseason in 14 years as a member of a conference. Overall, St. Joe's is 17-9 in tournament play.
The Lasers are 4-13 in conference tournament play since 2008 with all four triumphs coming in the last six seasons. The two programs – former North Atlantic Conference (NAC) foes – have met six times in the postseason with the Monks prevailing in all six meetings: a 4-1 win in a 2013 NAC quarterfinal, a 3-1 triumph in a 2016 GNAC semifinal, GNAC Championship wins in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and a 4-0 win in quarterfinal action last fall.
