PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Theodores '25
STANDISH, Maine - #2N Saint Joseph's College (14-4) cruised past Regis College (9-8), 14-6, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's lacrosse tournament quarterfinal matchup at the SJC Athletics Complex on Saturday afternoon.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the triumph, Saint Joseph's advances to the semifinal round of the GNAC Tournament for the third-consecutive season and will play the victor of the #4N Norwich University / #1S Johnson & Wales University quarterfinal – which begins at 7:00 PM tonight – in a second-round contest on Tuesday, start time and location TBD.
For Regis, the loss signals the end of the 2024 campaign.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks controlled the pace of play from the very start, as freshman Taylor Dumond (Minisink, N.Y.) ignited a 7-0 run with a pair of tallies midway through the first quarter. The opening surge was capped early in the second stanza when junior Mackenzie Siebert (Naples, Maine) and sophomore Celia Melanson (Waterford, Maine) netted man-up markers to make it a 7-0 game with 12:23 before the break.
The SJC offense endured a cold stretch for the rest of the second quarter with turnovers on four consecutive possessions and the Pride capitalized with two goals in a matter of 44 seconds, as Madeline Conover (West Newbury, Mass.) and Molly Higgins (Weymouth, Mass.) struck to cut the Regis deficit to 7-2 going into intermission.
After some halftime adjustments, St. Joe's cleaned up the sloppy play and proceeded to score seven of the following eight goals – including two apiece from Dinah Wadleigh (Augusta, Maine), Siebert, and Melanson – to put the game well out of reach to the tune of a 14-3 cushion with 5:16 remaining in the fourth frame.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (31-13), shots on goal (23-9), ground balls (28-12), draw controls (14-9), and caused turnovers (17-8) in the playoff victory.
THE KEEPERS:
SJC deployed all three netminders in the victory, as sophomore starter Alexis Eldridge (Effingham, N.H.) allowed two goals in the first half while freshman Julia Price (Newbury, Mass.) made two saves with a pair of goals allowed in 25 minutes and junior Morgan Wright (Chelmsford, Mass.) gave up two goals with a save in 3:52 of play.
The Pride split time in the cage, as sophomore Daniela Mazo (Bridgeport, Conn.) gave up seven goals with six saves in the first half and freshman Allayna Martone (Elkridge, Md.) yielded seven goals with three stops in the second half.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Siebert scored three goals with three assists on nine shots
- Senior Bridget Collins (Milford, Conn.) dealt five assists with two ground balls
- Senior Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine) scored twice with 10 draw controls, six ground balls, and two draw controls
- Wadleigh and Melanson added three goals and three ground balls apiece
- Dumond chipped in with two goals and an assist
- Senior Madison Scott (Cumberland, Maine) posted four ground balls and five caused turnovers
- Senior Heather Rohr (Merrimack, N.H.) notched five caused turnovers
LEADERS – REGIS:
- Graduate Hope Alto (Boston, Mass.) netted a pair of goals
- Senior Kylee Marley (Westerly, R.I.) added a goal and two assists with a pair of caused turnovers
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 10-3 all-time versus Regis College and has now defeated the Pride in four-consecutive meetings.
