JWU, NEC, Simmons secure home victories, SJC collects upset on the road

JWU, NEC, Simmons secure home victories, SJC collects upset on the road
November 3, 2024
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WINTHROP, Mass. – The top three seeds in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Field Hockey Championship Tournament earned home victories on Saturday (Nov. 2), while No. 5 seed Saint Joseph's (Maine) was the only road team to prevail. Those four teams will meet in the GNAC Field Hockey Semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

Top-seed Johnson & Wales shut out No. 8 seed Dean in a 3-0 win, while No. 2 seed New England College collected a double-OT victory win over No. 7 seed Lasell, 2-1. No. 3 seed Simmons was the third home team to come out victorious, shutting down No. 6 seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) 2-0. No. 5 seed Saint Joseph's (Maine) pulled an upset over No. 4 seed Colby-Sawyer on the road 2-1.

The semifinal round on Wednesday will feature JWU hosting SJC at 5 p.m. and the Pilgrims hosting the Sharks at 7 p.m.

After the semifinals, the tournament will conclude with the 2024 GNAC Field Hockey Championship match on Saturday, Nov. 9 with the winner being crowned conference champion. The conference champion earns the league's automatic qualifier into the 2024 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship.

#1 Johnson & Wales def. #8 Dean, 3-0

Full Recap Courtesy of the Johnson & Wales Athletic Communication Department

 PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Graduate student Megan Salsinha broke a scoreless tie with her 13th goal of the season with 22 seconds remaining in the third quarter to propel the JWU (Providence) field hockey to a 3-0 win over Dean College Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinal action at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletic Complex.

Salsinha finished the afternoon with three tallies to help send the Wildcats (16-3) to the conference semifinals on Wednesday at the SMAC against No. 4 New England College. Senior Haley Budenas and sophomore Ava Pontes collected assists on Salsinha's third tally of the day as JWU outshoot the Bulldogs 24-3 on the afternoon.

The game remained scoreless through the first half and late into the third before Salsinha worked her way through numerous defenders before burying the eventual game-winner. She added her second marker of the day 1:26 into the fourth quarter before polishing off a penalty corner for her 15th of the season.

Sophomore Sophia Brea recorded two saves to move to 12-3 on the season. The Wildcats held a 16-6 advantage in penalty corners and were led by shots by Salsinha with eight.

#2 New England College def. #7 Lasell, 2-1 (2OT)

Full Recap courtesy of the New England College Athletic Communications Department

HENNIKER, N.H. – New England College graduate midfielder Drea Chin (Laconia, N.H.) scored a sudden-victory game-winning goal with 5:41 remaining in double-overtime as NEC prevailed 2-1 over visiting Lasell University in the first round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tournament on Saturday afternoon at Don Melander Field in Henniker, New Hampshire. The Pilgrims, having claimed the number two seed in the GNAC playoffs with a 10-2 conference record and claiming the head-to-head tie-breaker against third-seeded Simmons University, advance to the conference semifinals for the second straight season, where they will host the Sharks this coming Wednesday evening at the Don.

THE BASICS
Score: #7 Lasell 1, #2 New England College 2
Records: Pilgrims 16-3, 10-2 GNAC | Lasers 10-9, 6-6 GNAC

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The 'Grims dominated possession in the opening quarter, posting several penalty corners and scoring opportunities. The Lasers of Lasell answered, however, as a stingy defense kept NEC off the board. The opening stanza concluded with the game still scoreless.
  • Just 17.5 seconds before halftime in the second, Lasell picked up their first penalty corner of the day and their best chance to score up to that point as graduate defender Alessia Callahan (Glassboro, N.J.) took the Lasers' first shot on goal of the contest. But NEC junior goalkeeper Makenzie Anderson (Antrim, N.H.) was up to the challenge, picking up the save and sending both teams into halftime still tied at 0-0. The Pilgrims had an 8-1 advantage in penalty corners and a 7-1 edge in shots on goal for the first half.
  • With 1:02 left in the third quarter, the Pilgrims were awarded yet another penalty corner. This time, NEC senior forward Meaghan McCamish (Warwick, R.I.), her team's leading scorer all season, would not be denied as she took a pass from junior midfielder Tatum Golis (New Hartford, N.Y.) and scored her 16th goal of the season with 51.3 remaining in the quarter to give her team a 1-0 lead going into the final frame.
  • With 3:39 to go in the game, a breakdown in the otherwise stalwart NEC defense allowed Lasell junior midfielder Jacquelyn Scopa (Peabody, Mass.) to accept a forward pass and she found the goal for her seventh goal of the season, shocking the crowd at Don Melander and sending the game into overtime.
  • With 5:45 remaining in the first overtime, a yellow card against Lasell gave NEC a golden opportunity on a five-minute penalty. Shot after shot by the Pilgrims came up just short of ending the contest, with some going just wide and others finding themselves stopped by a desperate Lasers defense. The visitors ultimately survived the penalty, and the game went into double-overtime.
  • Now in double-overtime, the 'Grims continued to dominate possession and scoring chances, as they had for most of the game. Finally, with 5:41 left until a potential shootout, Chin, NEC's second all-time leader in career points who had been playing like a whirling dervish since regulation ended, took a short pass from junior forward Cristina Manzi (Peapack, N.J.) and – with two defenders and the goalie all converging on her - found the back of the net for the game-winner as the Pilgrims bench and fans exploded in celebration.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
  • Anderson tallied one save on the day for the Pilgrims in picking up the win.
  • Lasell senior goalkeeper Courtney Tello (Nashua, N.H.) put in a valiant effort in net with 14 saves on 16 stops for the Lasers.
  • McCamish and Chin led the Pilgrims with five shots on goal for the afternoon. Total shots for the day were 16-2 in favor of the 'Grims.

#3 Simmons def. #6 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 2-0

Full Recap courtesy of Simmons Athletic Communications' Intern Hunter Murray

BRIGHTON, Mass. – Simmons field hockey (17-3) blanked the University of St. Joseph (Conn.) (11-8) in the first round the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) playoffs, 2-0.
 
The Blue Jays embraced the underdog mentality early, as they came out with energy, firing four shots on goal in the first half. Their most notable shot came late in the first quarter as forward Grace Kociszewski was able to get by the Sharks defense, but her shot was sent away by sophomore goalkeeper Hailey Bright.
 
The Sharks picked it up in the second period, with a shot from senior forward Anna Tedeschi bouncing just wide with two minutes remaining in the first half. But Simmons was unable to open the scoring, and with that, the first half of this GNAC quarterfinal game remained scoreless at the half.
 
The Sharks finally broke the seal in the 3rd quarter, when sophomore midfielder Lilly Taglieri fired a laser from just inside the circle that found the back of the net. Simmons carried that momentum with them into the fourth, where Tedeschi extended the Sharks lead to two off a nice feed from Taglieri.
 
The Sharks controlled the time of possession all second half behind stellar defense, and when the final buzzer sounded it was celebration time for the Sharks, as they had shutout USJ and advanced to the GNAC Semifinals.
 
SIMMONS HIGHLIGHTS

  • Sophomore midfielder Lilly Taglieri got the Sharks on the board with the first goal of the postseason, also recording an assist.
  • Senior forward Anna Tedeschi scored a goal along with 3 total shots.
  • Sophomore goalkeeper Hailey Bright recorded 6 saves in the shutout.

#5 Saint Joseph's (Maine) def. #4 Colby-Sawyer, 2-1

Recap courtesy of the Saint Joseph's (Maine) Athletic Communications Department

NEW LONDON, NH – Saint Joseph's College (11-10, 8-5) prevailed 2-1 over Colby-Sawyer College (12-8, 9-4) in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinal field hockey matchup on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Monks got on the board first with a goal from Isabella Littler (Fayette, Maine) in the 12th minute of play. Saint Joseph's kept Colby-Sawyer at bay until the 19th minute mark when Abby Olden, assisted by Sabrina Lippold, put one in the net. The Monks responded to Colby-Sawyer's goal within a minute when Zoey Lailer (Limington, Maine) assisted by Isabella Littler, scored at the 20:10 mark. 

TEAM STATS:

The Monks held the lead in shots (12-11), shots on goal (11-6), while the Chargers held the lead in penalty corners (13-4) in the victory.

THE KEEPERS:

SJC senior Kassidy Collins (Pittston, Maine) turned away five shots in the win while CSC netminder Carly Bernard stopped eight in the losing effort.

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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