PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Top-seeded Johnson & Wales University (16-2, 13-0 GNAC) defeated #2 Saint Joseph's College (16-4, 12-1 GNAC), 10-6, in the 2023 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Lacrosse Tournament Championship on Saturday.
With the victory, the Wildcats avenge last season's 10-9 GNAC Championship loss at the hands of the Monks and claim their fifth conference crown, and subsequent berth into the NCAA Tournament, in the last six seasons.
For St. Joe's, the loss signals the end of the 2023 season as well as the collegiate lacrosse careers of seniors Hannah Flaherty (Waltham, Mass.), Samantha Magill (Glocester, R.I., and Tara Powers (Tyngsboro, Mass.) and graduate student Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine).
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Off to a slow start, Saint Joseph's did not find the back of the net until five minutes elapsed in the second quarter when sophomore Brianna Paul (Brattleboro, Vt.) scored off a Dexter feed. In the meantime, the Wildcats received goals from Taina Gamory and Maris DiBeneditto in the first frame and Ally Wilson made it a 3-0 game with a free-position goal at the 10:50 mark of the second stanza.
Paul and Dexter hit pay dirt 25 seconds apart to cut the SJC deficit to 4-3 with 5:37 left in the second, but Gamory bookended intermission with tallies before and after the break to lift her squad to a 6-3 cushion with 11:37 remaining in the third quarter.
Junior Megan Mourmouras (Biddeford, Maine) scored her lone goal of the game a minute later before Katie Sloan countered a Dexter strike with a pair of markers in the closing four minutes of the penultimate period.
Johnson & Wales headed into the final frame with an 8-5 advantage and the Monks made it a two-goal game when Dexter netted her team's first man-up marker of the day with 7:06 left. Unfortunately for the Royal Blue, the Wildcats held the Monks off the board for the remainder of the contest and padded their lead with goals from Wilson and Madeleine Gould to clinch the GNAC Championship.
The Wildcats killed three of four SJC man-up opportunities and played without Gamory – their leading scorer and offensive catalyst – for the last 10+ minutes of the game as the senior was flagged for her second yellow at the 10:29 mark of the fourth quarter.
TEAM STATS:
Johnson & Wales held the lead in shots (26-23), shots on goal (19-13), ground balls (25-18), draw controls (11-9), and caused turnovers (14-6) in the victory.
THE KEEPERS:
SJC freshman Alexis Eldridge (Effingham, N.H.) allowed seven goals and made seven saves with three ground balls in 45 minutes of play while sophomore Morgan Wright (Chelmsford, Mass.) yielded three goals with a pair of saves in 15 minutes between the pipes.
JWU goalie Emma Glyman allowed six goals and turned away seven shots with three ground balls in the complete game performance.
FOR THE RECORD:
With her sixth of seven draw controls in today's contest, junior midfielder Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine) broke the Monks' career draw controls record. She entered the game five shy of the previous record, held by Anneka Adame '14 who notched 326 DC's in 63 career games, and surpassed the milestone at the 9:35 mark of the third quarter. Battaglia caps her junior season with 328 draw controls in 48 career games.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Dexter scored three goals with an assist
- Paul netted a pair of goals on five shots
- Battaglia picked up five ground balls, seven draw controls, and two caused turnovers
- Sophomore Shauna Clark (Oakland, Maine) added two ground balls and two caused turnovers
LEADERS – JOHNSON & WALES:
- Gamory tallied three goals, two assists, five ground balls, and two draw controls
- Gould added two goals and an assist
- Sloan and Wilson netted two goals apiece
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:
MVP – Emma Glyman, JWU
Taina Gamory, JWU
Madeleine Gould, JWU
Ally Wilson, JWU
Margaret Johnson, JWU
Lydia Dexter, SJC
Heather Rohr, SJC
Shauna Clark, SJC
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 6-6 in the history of the series with Johnson & Wales University.
