CHICOPEE, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College (10-2, 8-0 GNAC) toppled Elms College (3-6, 2-6 GNAC), 18-7, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's lacrosse contest on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks found themselves in the rare position of trailing early, as Ciersten Palumbo scored for Elms off a Taylor Borla pass 1:44 into the game. The Blazers' lead was short lived however, as the Monks went on to net four unanswered tallies during the remainder of the first quarter.
The Blazers maintained the pace in the second stanza, as Palumbo and Borla offset goals by Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine) and Shauna Clark (Oakland, Maine) and faced a 6-3 deficit going into intermission.
Saint Joseph's proceeded to put the game out of reach with a dominant third quarter, as the visitors outscored the hosts by an 8-1 margin during the segment. Sophomore Mackenzie Siebert (Naples, Maine) scored three goals and Dexter added a pair to give the Monks some distance on the scoreboard.
St. Joe's continued to fill the net and started the final frame with three straight scores to secure a 17-4 cushion with 10:31 left. The Blazers scored three of the game's last four goals, as Borla punched home a pair and Palumbo netted her third of the afternoon to account for the 18-7 final.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (51-17), shots on goal (37-11), ground balls (30-25), draw controls (15-13), and caused turnovers (15-4) in the victory. The Monks committed only four turnovers in the conference conquest.
THE KEEPERS:
SJC freshman Alexis Eldridge (Effingham, N.H.) made four saves for the Monks while Elms netminder Gianna Liquori turned away 19 shots in a losing effort.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Dexter tallied five goals, four assists, four ground balls, and three draw controls
- Clark scored four goals with an assist and a pair of ground balls
- Siebert chipped in with three goals, an assist, and two ground balls
- Freshman Celia Melanson (Waterford, Maine) scored twice and picked up three ground balls
- Junior Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine) scored a goal with five ground balls, six draw controls, and three caused turnovers
- Junior Heather Rohr (Merrimack, N.H.) picked up three ground balls and three draw controls with a pair of caused turnovers
LEADERS – ELMS:
- Borla registered three goals with an assist, three ground balls, and six draw controls
- Palumbo netted three goals on five shots
- Anna-Elise Pikul chipped in with a goal, three ground balls, and four draw controls
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host Regis College on Wednesday in a GNAC matchup set to start at 6:00 PM.
