NASHUA, N.H. – Saint Joseph's College (10-3, 9-0 GNAC) used a fast start and a strong defensive effort to defeat Rivier University (6-7, 4-5 GNAC), 15-7, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's lacrosse action at Joanne Merrill Field on Wednesday evening. With the win, the Monks extended their winning streak to nine games.

MILESTONE MET:

With the assist on an Ella Highbarger (Kennebunk, Maine) goal at the 6:38 mark of tonight's game, senior Celia Melanson (Waterford, Maine) became the ninth player in SJC women's lacrosse history to reach the 200 career-point plateau. Melanson now has 71 goals and 133 assists in 66 career games and currently leads NCAA DIII in assists per game average (3.92).

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Saint Joseph's came out firing and built a 4-0 lead in the opening 8:22 behind goals from sophomore Ella Highbarger (Kennebunk, Maine), sophomore Zoey Lailer (Limington, Maine), and junior Taylor Dumond (Minisink, N.Y.). Rivier answered with a Shaelyn Burke tally late in the quarter, but Lailer struck again in the final minute to send the Monks into the second period with a 5-1 advantage.

The Raiders battled throughout the middle quarters and stayed within striking distance. Saint Joseph's took a 9-3 lead into halftime, but Rivier scored twice in the third to trim the deficit to 10-5 before Dumond netted a late marker to steady the visitors. The Monks then answered every fourth-quarter push by the hosts, getting goals from Lailer, Dumond, and Kiley Webber (Freeport, Maine) before freshman Savannah Knight (Sanford, Maine) capped the scoring with a man-down free-position goal in the final 30 seconds.

STATS OF THE GAME:

Saint Joseph's held the edge in shots (34-16), ground balls (30-17), and draw controls (14-10), while also limiting Rivier to 16-for-35 on clears. The Monks committed a season-high 29 turnovers, but forced 39 by the Raiders in the win.

THE KEEPERS:

Saint Joseph's:

• Julia Price (Jr., Newbury, Mass.) – 60:00, 7 GA, 5 saves

Rivier:

• Arrianna Imbriano – 60:00, 15 GA, 7 saves

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Taylor Dumond – 4 goals, 6 draw controls
• Ella Highbarger – 3 goals, 1 assist, 3 caused turnovers
• Zoey Lailer – 3 goals
• Kiley Webber – 4 goals, 1 assist, 5 ground balls
• Celia Melanson (Sr., Waterford, Maine) – 5 assists, 2 caused turnovers
• Ava Molineaux (So., Rowley, Mass.) – 11 ground balls, 6 caused turnovers, 6 draw controls

LEADERS – RIVIER:

• Sofia Cebrero – 2 goals, 1 assist
• Hayleigh Young – 1 goal, 2 ground balls, 5 draw controls
• Brooke Carter – 1 goal
• Kaycie Hudon – 1 goal
• Taylor Rioux – 4 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the triumph, Saint Joseph's improves to 14-2 all-time versus Rivier University and has now won six consecutive meetings with the Raiders.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's returns home on Friday, April 10, when the Monks host Norwich University in a GNAC contest scheduled to begin at 4:00 PM.