SCARBOROUGH, Maine – Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (16-1, 9-0 GNAC) defeated #4 Emmanuel College (12-4, 6-3 GNAC), 15-8, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Semifinal contest at Scarborough High School on Friday evening. Sophomore midfielder Jackie Wilson (Tiverton, R.I.) tallied five goals with two assists and 10 draw controls in the victory.
With the win, Saint Joseph's returns to the conference championship game for the second-consecutive season and will host #2 Lasell College in the GNAC title match at Deering Memorial Stadium on Sunday at 6:30 PM. Lasell defeated #3 Johnson & Wales University, 18-11, in the other GNAC semifinal matchup earlier this evening.
For Emmanuel, which defeated Saint Joseph's in the 2014 GNAC Championship, the loss signals the end of the 2015 season, save for an ECAC berth.
In what was a very physical game, the Monks took control early and held a 3-1 lead just four minutes into play, as goals from Elyse Caiazzo (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus), Elizabeth Elcock (Westwood, Mass.) and Lizzie Calnan (Westport, Mass.) tripled up a goal by Emmanuel's Kristen Tuleja (Mansfield, Mass.) with 26 minutes remaining in the opening half.
The Saints fought back with a pair of goals over the following five minutes to knot the contest at 3-3, as junior Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) scored off an Emily Baker (Stratham, N.H.) assist at the 24:21 mark and senior Sarah Wootten (Berlin, Md.) netted a man-down marker 2:41 later to make it a 3-3 contest with 21:40 left in the first frame.
Wilson and Higgins traded goals at the 20:17 and 19:07 marks, respectively, to maintain the stalemate, but the Monks received three-straight scores from Caiazzo, Wilson and sophomore Kelsey Dumond (Lewiston, Maine), with the latter being a man-up goal off a Calnan feed at the 3:28 mark, to propel the hosts to a 7-4 cushion.
Freshman midfielder Stephanie Warn (Hanson, Mass.) cut the Saints' deficit down to 7-5 with a man-up marker at the 1:54 timestamp and the score remained heading into intermission, despite the Monks' repeated attempts at posting the last shot in the closing seconds.
In the first half, Saint Joseph's held advantages in both shots (14-8) and draw controls (9-4) while Emmanuel owned a 7-5 lead in ground balls during the opening 30 minutes.
In the second stanza, St. Joe's raced out of the gates with three goals over the opening 4:33, as Wilson, Elcock and Caiazzo scored a goal apiece to make it a 10-5 game. Wootten answered with her second goal of the night, off an Alexia Basile (West Hartford, Conn.) feed, at the 24:20 mark, but the Monks netted four of the subsequent five goals to all but seal the victory. Dumond, Caiazzo, Calnan and Wilson all hit pay dirt during the stretch, more than offsetting an Amanda Cook (Saco, Maine) tally with 8:24 on the clock, to make it a 14-7 game with 4:22 remaining.
The Saints made one last push, as Tuleja benefited from a foul in the circle and scored on a free-position shot with 3:43 left, but Wilson won the ensuing draw and took the ball downfield, eluding several defenders en route to netting her fifth goal of the night, the game's final tally scored at the 3:24 mark.
Overall, the Monks held advantages in shots (25-15), and draw controls (18-7) while the Saints maintained a 16-12 edge in ground balls on the evening.
For the Monks, Caiazzo tallied four goals with an assist, four draw controls and a pair of caused turnovers, Calnan contributed two goals and an assist, and Dumond and Elcock scored a pair of goals apiece in the tournament victory. Junior goalie Michelle Cunha (Enfield, Conn.) made a pair of saves in what was the Monks' 16th consecutive triumph.
For the Saints, Wootten scored two goals with an assist, Higgins and Tuleja netted a pair apiece, and Warn added a goal with a game-high six ground balls and two caused turnovers on the night. Junior goalie Lauren White (Lynnfield, Mass.) made six saves in the losing bid.
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
