Norwich, Regis Advance To Quarterfinals After Play-In Victories
Tournament Info
WINTHROP, Mass. - No. 7 seed Norwich and No. 8 Regis collected victories in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Play-In Round, taking care of business in their home territories to advance to the GNAC Quarterfinals which will take place on Saturday, Nov. 2.
The Cadets collected four second half goals to pull away from the No. 10 seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), winning 7-3, while the Pride shut down No. 9 Elms defensively as Regis did not allow a Blazer goal, earning a 6-0 victory.
The eight team field is now set as these eight GNAC teams will compete in their respective quarterfinals matchups for a spot in the semifinals, which takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Top seed Johnson & Wales will be hosting Regis in Providence, RI at a 6pm start while two seed Emmanuel has a 3:30 pm tilt with Norwich. Third seed Rivier will host no. 6 Albertus Magnus in Nashua, NH at 1pm while No. 4 Lasell hosts No. 5 Colby-Sawyer at noon.
#7 Norwich def. #10 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 7-3
Full recap courtesy of the Norwich Athletic Communications Department
NORTHFIELD, Vt.- In their first postseason contest since 2011, the Norwich Women's Soccer team would ride a historic effort from Harley Murphy (Guyton, Ga.) to defeat the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) 7-3 on Sabine Field Thursday evening for their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament win since 2010.
The Cadets held the early territorial edge in the contest and would make it count. Lindsey Duggan (Belmont, N.H.) would pick the pocket of a Blue Jay defender in the attacking midfield and immediately passed it off to Kat Probst (Gouverneur, N.Y.) before touching it along to Murphy who sent a ball across the box to the bottom right corner to break the ice in the 12th minute. Five minutes later, crisp passing by USJ to Alana Picard at the top of the box would tie the game.
Soon after, in the 21st minute, Picard would corral the ball after it pinballed around and sent it just under the crossbar to give the Blue Jays the lead. The lead stood for nine minutes before Norwich answered. A USJ clearing attempt would be met by Harleigh Cornellier (Tyngsborough, Mass.) in the midfield who sprung Murphy who popped the ball over the keeper's head to tie the game. Probst and Murphy connected again late in the half to give Norwich the one goal lead at the half and sealing a hat trick for the junior forward.
Midway through the second half, Murphy would score her fourth goal of the night off a centering pass from Bella Roy (Weare, N.H.) which tied her for the program record for most goals in a single game, and tying for second for most points in a game. Nearly a minute later, Probst added another goal off a Duggan throw in to further extend the advantage for the maroon and gold. The Blue Jays would answer with Picard capping off her hat trick on a penalty kick.
Three minutes later, off a free kick, the ball would be sent into the box before it deflected off a USJ defender and into the net. For good measure, Colby Magoon (Loudon, N.H.) would convert on a breakaway to push the final score to 7-3 in a game where the Cadets outshot the Blue Jays 21-9.
#8 Regis def. #9 Elms, 6-0
Full Recap Courtesy of the Regis Athletic Communications Department
WESTON, Mass. - Regis College picked up right where it left off Tuesday night, jumping on the board less than 10 minutes into the match and then continuing to pressure the Elms College defense, as the Pride defeated the Blazers, 6-0, Thursday night in the first round of the 2024 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Soccer Tournament at Regis Stadium.
With the victory, the eighth seeded Pride advance to the quarterfinals where they will face top seed Johnson and Wales Saturday, Nov. 2, in Providence, R.I., starting at 6 p.m. In the teams' regular season meeting Oct. 19, Regis held the Wildcats scoreless in a 0-0 draw, snapping JWU's 59-match GNAC winning streak that dated back over three years.
For the second straight match, Elms nearly scored first, but Emily Basua's shot in the sixth minute hit the crossbar and bounced away. After a shot by Caroline Wilcox sailed to the right, Regis went on the counterattack, creating a scoring chance for Brynn Foster (Londonderry, N.H.) that was stopped by Elms goalie Mackenzie Quick.
In the 10th minute, Sienna Santiago's (Brewster, N.Y.) found the foot of Avary Hall (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), who converted the shot for her first goal of the evening. Santiago earned three solid chances over the next 20 minutes to extend the Pride advantage, but Quick was able to turn all of them away.
Hall collected another crossing pass in the 36th minute, this time from Colleen Curran (Woburn, Mass.), and scored her 19th goal of the season, tying the Regis career goals record with her 27th career goal. After two more of her shots were stopped by Quick, Santiago finally converted her ninth goal of the season in the 42nd minute, with Janet Amasa-Titus (Georgetown, Mass.) picking up the assist.
Amasa-Titus would score twice in the span of six minutes in the second half, with Delaney Scanlon (Dracut, Mass.) assisting on the second tally. The Pride would complete the scoring in the 86th minute as Maya DiMino's (Billerica, Mass.) shot was stopped by Blazer goalie Hailey Magierowski, but Meadow Comeiro (Woburn, Mass.) converted the rebound for her first goal of the season.
Cassidy Van Cott (Santa Monica, Calif.) made two saves in close to 77 minutes of action before Daniela Mazo (Bridgeport, Conn.) came in for the final 13 minutes, picking up a save of her own. Quick collected nine saves in 73 minutes before being relieved by Magierowski.