STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (10-0 GNAC) remained undefeated with an 11-7 victory over four-time defending GNAC champion Johnson & Wales University (6-4, 5-1 GNAC) in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's lacrosse action at the SJC Athletics Complex on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Monks opened the game with man-up goals from Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine) and Bridget Collins (Milford, Conn.) in the first five minutes, but the Wildcats put the hosts on their heels with five unanswered tallies and headed into the second stanza with a 5-2 advantage.

St. Joe's cut the deficit down to one goal with strikes from Mackenzie Siebert (Raymond, Maine), Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine), and Megan Mourmouras (Biddeford, Maine) as the hosts faced a 6-5 margin going into intermission.

The SJC defense took center stage in the second half as the Monks held the Wildcats to just one goal in the closing 30 minutes. In the meantime, Saint Joseph's netted six markers as Collins tied the game 1:50 into the third quarter and sophomore Cailyn Wesley (Peabody, Mass.) potted the game-winner off a Dexter pass with 4:40 left in the penultimate period.

JWU senior attack Brooke Healy (Bethel, Conn.) capped the third quarter scoring with a goal to make it an 8-7 game at the 18-second mark, but St. Joe's wrapped up the win with a 3-0 fourth frame.

TEAM STATS:

Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (28-23), shots on goal (22-16) and draw controls (12-10) while Johnson & Wales maintained a 26-21 edge in ground balls.

THE KEEPERS:

SJC freshman starter Morgan Wright (Chelmsford, Mass.) was excellent in goal with nine saves and three ground balls. Johnson & Wales split time in net, as starter Emma Glyman (Tolland, Conn.) turned away six shots in the first half and Emma Crowley (Leicester, Mass.) took the loss after posting five stops in the second stanza.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Dexter scored three goals and dealt a pair of assists
• Collins netted a pair with an assist
• Mourmouras added a goal, three assists, and three caused turnovers
• Wesley scored twice with two draw controls

LEADERS – JOHNSON & WALES:

• Sophomore midfielder Maris DiBeneditto (Southbury, Conn.) scored two goals with three ground balls and three draw controls
• Sophomore midfielder Taina Gamory (Warwick, R.I.) added a goal and two assists with five ground balls, three draw controls, and two caused turnovers
• Junior midfielder Margaret Johnson (Bear, Del.) added a goal, three ground balls, four draw controls, and a pair of caused turnovers

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 5-4 all-time versus Johnson & Wales University and ends a four-game losing streak at the hands of the Wildcats.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will host Dean College next Saturday at 4:00 PM.

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