Simmons, Saint Joseph's of Maine Earn Spots in Saturday's GNAC Field Hockey Championship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BABSON PARK, Mass. – Sophomore forward Julie Saltamartini (East Hampstead, N.H.) tallied a pair of goals and assisted on another to lead the top-seeded Simmons College field hockey team to a 3-0 victory over visiting fifth-seeded Johnson & Wales University this evening in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals on MacDowell Field on the campus of Babson College in Babson Park, Mass. 

The Sharks win their fourth straight match to improve to 13-4 on the season and advance to the GNAC Championship game for the second straight year. Simmons will take on number two seed Saint Joseph's College (Maine), a 3-1 winner over number three seed Anna Maria College, on Saturday, November 7 at 6:00 p.m. in a match to be played at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. 

Johnson & Wales concludes its season with a 4-15 mark. 

The Sharks wasted no time in getting on the board when Saltamartini collected her own rebound in front of the cage and used a backhanded sweep to put the ball in the back of the cage just 98 seconds into the contest for a 1-0 edge. 

Simmons increased its lead to 2-0 in the second half when sophomore forwardSammy Rondeau (Franklin, Mass.) carried the ball just inside the circle on the right side, where she sent a cross to a closing Saltamartini. The sophomore connected with a one-timer for her second tally of the evening and team-leading 17^th of the season at 56:48 of the second half. 

The Sharks added an insurance marker less than three minutes later when Rondeau sent a cross to Saltamartini in the middle of the circle, who fed junior forward Jenna Gagnon (Waterville, Maine) in the left slot for her sixth goal of the season and a 3-0 Simmons lead. 

The Wildcats threatened to knot the contest late in the first half when sophomore forward Giovanna Ciavardoni (Latham, N.Y.) put a shot on goal, but the Sharks' keeper made a stop with her blocker with 1:15 to go in the opening half. Ciavardoni took aim on the cage again late in the second half off a penalty corner, but was denied again by junior midfielder Amy Wilson (Falmouth, Mass.), who registered a defensive save.

Junior goalie Brianna Rastello (Salem, N.H.) stopped both shots she faced to register her seventh shutout of the year and 13^th of her career for the Sharks. She also extended her scoreless streak to 238:52 minutes as Simmons posted its school-record 11th shutout. Sophomore keeper Shannon Yoder (Boyertown, Pa.) made five saves for Johnson & Wales, while senior midfielder Jessica Gravalis (Washington Crossing, Pa.) recorded a pair of defensive saves.

Courtesy of Simmons Athletics Communications.

PORTLAND, Maine – Second-seeded Saint Joseph's College (13-6) topped #3 Anna Maria College (13-7), 3-1, in a GNAC Field Hockey Tournament Semifinal at Deering Memorial Stadium on Wednesday evening.

THE LEAD
The Monks registered just four shots on the evening but hit pay dirt on three bids in a victory that propels Saint Joseph's into a conference championship match for the fifth time in the last eight seasons. JuniorKelsey Dumond (Lewiston, Maine) and freshman Michalia Parent (Westborough, Mass.) both recorded a goal and an assist in the tourney triumph.

With the win, Saint Joseph's advances to the GNAC Championship game and will face top-seeded Simmons College, which blanked #5 Johnson & Wales University, 3-0, this evening in the other conference semifinal. The title bout will be played at 6:00 PM on Saturday at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The season may not be over for the AMCATS, who hope to earn a berth into the ECAC Tournament for the second-consecutive season.

GOAL HISTORY
1.              2:30        SJMFH15               Kara Kelly                                Michalia Parent

The Monks wasted little time securing a lead, as freshman Kara Kelly (York, Maine) scored off a right-to left crossing pass from Parent, who streaked down the near sideline with the ball for nearly 50 yards before dishing off to her classmate, just 2:30 after the opening whistle.

2.              32:11     SJMFH15               Michalia Parent                  Kelsey Dumond

St. Joe's doubled the advantage in the 33rd minute when Parent netted her 10th goal of the season. The freshman standout received a lead pass from Dumond near the top of the circle and deked a defender before placing a shot into the bottom right corner.

3.              40:58     SJMFH15               Kelsey Dumond                  (unassisted)

The 2-0 margin remained until the 41st minute, when Dumond scored her 11th of the year, an unassisted tally, to lift the hosts to a three-goal cushion. The play was the end result of a penalty corner, as several nifty passes led to a Dumond shot, in traffic, in the heart of the circle that found the lower right corner of the cage.

4.              68:22     ANM                        Kaitlyn Moran                      Kylie Dalbec

Anna Maria, which outshot Saint Joseph's, 9-4, in the loss, finally got on the board with a goal off a corner at the 68:22 mark, as junior Kaitlyn Moran found the back of the cage off a Kylie Dalbec (Portland, Maine) pass to account for the 3-1 final.

THE KEEPERS
St. Joe's freshman netminder Megan Baker (Gorham, Maine) stopped three of the four shots she faced in the victory while AMCATS senior Mary Kate Breen (Londonderry, N.H.) posted one stop in the losing effort.

TEAM STATS
Anna Maria held a 9-4 shots advantage with a 6-4 lead in shots on goal while Saint Joseph's owned a 7-4 edge in penalty corners on the evening.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 12-3 in the history of the series with Anna Maria College, a team that ended the Monks' 2014 campaign with an upset 1-0 triumph in the GNAC Tournament semifinal round last fall.

NEXT!
Saint Joseph's is 14-7 all-time versus Simmons College, which claimed the first-ever GNAC Field Hockey Championship last fall. The Sharks handed the Monks their first regular-season GNAC loss earlier this season, a 2-0 setback in Boston on Saturday, October 3rd. Simmons is riding a four-game winning streak and has not allowed a goal in nearly 240 minutes of play.

Courtesy of Saint Joseph's Athletics Communications.

First Round - Saturday, October 31 | RECAP
Game 1: #5 Johnson & Wales 1, #4 Lasell 0 | BOX
Game 2: #3 Anna Maria 5, #6 Mount Ida 1 | BOX

Semifinals - Wednesday, November 4
Game 3: #1 Simmons 3, #5 Johnson & Wales 0 | BOX
Game 4: #2 Saint Joseph's Maine 3, #3 Anna Maria 1 | BOX

Championship - Saturday, November 7
Game 5: #2 Saint Joseph's Maine vs. #1 Simmons - 6:00 PM at MIT