PORTLAND, Maine - #2 Saint Joseph's College (13-3, 8-1 GNAC) defeated #7 Norwich University (7-9, 3-6 GNAC), 17-6, in the first round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament at Deering Memorial Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's advances to the second round of the conference tourney for the fifth-consecutive season and will host #6 Simmons College (7-11, 3-6 GNAC) in a semifinal contest at Deering on Friday night at 8:00 PM. Simmons pulled off an upset victory over #3 Lasell College earlier today, as the Sharks cruised past the reigning GNAC Champions, 15-7, on their home turf to advance.
For Norwich, the loss signals the end of the 2017 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks put the Cadets on their heels almost immediately, as senior Jackie Wilson (Tiverton, R.I.) scored off a Samantha Medlin (Kingston, Mass.) feed just 29 seconds into the game. Leading by a 3-1 margin 10 minutes later, Saint Joseph's rattled off four unanswered strikes to assume a commanding 6-1 cushion with 15:29 before the break.
Trailing 10-3 going into the second stanza, the Cadets showed signs of life when senior Chapel Guarnieri (Pepperell, Mass.) netted an unassisted marker 23 seconds into the closing period, but the Monks put an end to the visitors' comeback hopes with five straight tallies en route to securing a 15-4 advantage with 12:14 remaining.
THE KEEPERS:
Saint Joseph's freshman Kaylin Mansir (West Gardiner, Maine) made seven saves in the victory while Norwich freshman Lawson Hayes (Moorestown, N.J.) stopped seven of the 24 shots she faced in a losing effort.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Wilson tallied five goals, two assists, seven ground balls, six draw controls, and a pair of caused turnovers
- Sophomore Kayla Kelly (York, Maine) scored four goals with an assist and two ground balls
- Junior Elyse Caiazzo (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) added three goals and an assist with four ground balls and a pair of draw controls
- Sophomore Kara Kelly (York, Maine) scored twice with an assist and two draw controls
- Junior Brianne Maloney (South Portland, Maine) picked up three ground balls with five caused turnovers
LEADERS – NORWICH:
- Sophomore Kathryn Albretsen (Cotuit, Mass.) scored three goals with four ground balls, and four draw controls
- Guarnieri netted two goals with four ground balls and two draw controls
- Freshman Rebecca Brown (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) chipped in with two ground balls and three caused turnovers
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 8-6 in the history of the series with Norwich University and has now defeated the Cadets in seven-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2014 campaign. The Monks defeated the Cadets earlier this season in Vermont (14-6) and also topped Norwich in the GNAC quarterfinal round exactly a year ago today (18-6).
#GOMONKS
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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.
