BOSTON, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College (12-3, 10-1 GNAC) defeated Simmons University (12-3, 10-1 GNAC), 15-8, in a key Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's lacrosse matchup on Wednesday evening.

MILESTONES MET:

Junior Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine) and sophomore Shauna Clark (Oakland, Maine) both registered their 100th career point in tonight's victory. Battaglia hit the century mark with her first goal of the game, scored 1:52 into the game, while Clark reached the plateau with a free-position tally with 12:22 left in the third quarter.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Monks set the Sharks back on their heels from the get-go, as Battaglia netted three goals to account for more than half of the Monks' early 5-0 lead. Grad student Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine) capped the opening run with a goal off a Celia Melanson (Waterford, Maine) assist with 6:42 left in the first frame.

Frida Turriza and Sammi Hogan scored goals to cut the SJC lead to 5-2, but Dexter capped the first quarter and opened the second with free-position strikes to put her team back on top by five with 9:42 left in the second stanza.

Trailing 9-3 at the break, the Sharks enjoyed a productive third period as the hosts outscored the Monks by a 4-2 margin to make it an 11-7 game going into the fourth quarter.

Saint Joseph's regrouped after the uneven third period effort and clinched the victory after outscoring Simmons by a 4-1 margin during the final frame. Just as she did in the first quarter, Battaglia was in the middle of the Monks' offensive attack and netted a pair of markers during the decisive period.

TEAM STATS:

Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (33-21), shots on goal (25-15), draw controls (19-8), and caused turnovers (14-12) in the victory while both teams picked up 19 ground balls in the conference contest. Free-position shots also played a pivotal role, as St. Joe's scored on 9-of-18 attempts while Simmons did not convert a bid in four tries.

THE KEEPERS:

SJC freshman starter Alexis Eldridge (Effingham, N.H.) earned the victory after allowing four goals with five saves in 45 minutes while sophomore Morgan Wright (Chelmsford, Mass.) gave up four goals and made a pair of saves in 15 minutes between the pipes.

Simmons starter Nicole Elliott suffered the loss after yielding nine goals with five stops in the first half while Katie Castle gave up six goals and turned away five shots in the second stanza.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Battaglia scored five goals with 12 draw controls, four caused turnovers, and three ground balls
• Dexter contributed five goals and one ground ball
• Clark scored twice and picked up three ground balls, four draw controls, and a pair of caused turnovers
• Junior Megan Mourmouras (Biddeford, Maine) chipped in with a goal, three ground balls, and a pair of caused turnovers
• Junior Madison Scott (Cumberland, Maine) added two ground balls and three caused turnovers

LEADERS – SIMMONS:

• Hogan led the Sharks with four goals on nine shots
• Abby Stoller tallied a goal, five assists, two ground balls, six draw controls, and two caused turnovers
• Turriza added two goals and three ground balls

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the victory Saint Joseph's improves to 9-7 all-time versus Simmons University and has now defeated the Sharks in three-consecutive meetings.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will host the University of Saint Joseph on Saturday in a GNAC contest set to start at 5:00 PM. The Monks will hold a brief ceremony to honor the team's three seniors prior to the start of the game.

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