STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (7-3, 6-0 GNAC) used a dominant second quarter and a balanced offensive effort to defeat Lasell University (7-2, 5-2 GNAC), 18-7, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's lacrosse action at the SJC Athletic Complex on Tuesday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Saint Joseph's grabbed control early and never trailed, getting first-quarter goals from sophomore Ella Highbarger (Kennebunk, Maine), junior Taylor Dumond (Minisink, N.Y.), and sophomore Kiley Webber (Freeport, Maine) to build a 3-0 lead. Lasell got on the board midway through the opening frame when Lily Hunt (Dover, N.H.) scored, but the Monks answered with a six-goal second quarter to take a 9-2 advantage into halftime.
The Lasers made a brief push early in the third quarter, as Ruby Cahill (Peabody, Mass.) scored twice in the opening 45 seconds of the period to trim the deficit to 9-4. Saint Joseph's responded immediately, however, scoring five of the next six goals behind tallies from Dumond, Highbarger, and senior Sophia Burton (Minisink, N.Y.) to carry a 14-4 lead into the fourth.
Lasell netted three fourth-quarter goals, but Saint Joseph's matched the surge and sealed the win with four markers in the final period. Dumond scored three times in the fourth, Burton added another, and the Monks closed out the 11-goal conference victory.
STATS OF THE GAME:
Saint Joseph's controlled the contest statistically, finishing with advantages in shots (42-12), shots on goal (28-7), ground balls (27-22), draw controls (17-9), and clears (29-for-33). The Monks also forced 28 Lasell turnovers while committing only 17 of their own.
THE KEEPERS:
Saint Joseph's:
Lasell:
- Joy Sayah (Sr., Rockland, Mass.) – 60:00, 18 GA, 12 saves
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Taylor Dumond – 6 goals, 4 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers, 4 draw controls
- Ella Highbarger – 5 goals, 1 assist, 4 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers
- Sophia Burton – 4 goals, 1 assist
- Celia Melanson (Sr., Waterford, Maine) – 1 goal, 6 assists, 3 ground balls
- Zoey Lailer (So., Limington, Maine) – 4 assists
- Ava Molineaux (So., Rowley, Mass.) – 9 draw controls
LEADERS – LASELL:
- Ruby Cahill – 3 goals
- Lily Hunt – 2 goals, 1 assist, 6 ground balls
- Emily Watson (Jr., Gilford, N.H.) – 1 goal, 1 assist, 5 ground balls
- Emma Dressel (Fr., Littleton, Mass.) – 1 goal
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the triumph, Saint Joseph's improves to 11-10 all-time versus Lasell University and has now defeated the Lasers in five consecutive meetings.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's returns to action on Thursday, April 2, when the Monks travel to Mitchell College for a GNAC matchup scheduled to begin at 3:00 PM.
