Emmanuel, JWU Advance For GNAC Championship Rematch

WINTHROP, Mass. - It will be a rematch of last year's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Lacrosse title game as both top divisional seeds Emmanuel (North) and Johnson & Wales (South) will meet once again in the 2025 GNAC Women's Lacrosse Championship on Saturday, May 3 at 10 AM for an automatic qualifying berth into the 2025 NCAA DIII Tournament. 

The Wildcats defeated No. 2 North seed Norwich 11-4 and will head to their ninth straight championship game and will look to extend their championship streak to three on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Saints defeated No. 3 North seed Saint Joseph's (Maine) 9-4 as they will head back to the title game once again on Saturday.

The last time these two met in last year's championship, JWU came out victorious 14-4. In regular season play this year, it was Emmanuel who came out on top as they bested the Wildcats 12-6. That conference win determined the host of this year's championship as Emmanuel earned that right to host on Saturday morning per the league's tiebreaker criteria for determining the Championship Final host.

Recap/Photo Courtesy of Emmanuel Athletic Communications

BOSTON – After charging out to a 3-0 lead through one quarter, Emmanuel women's lacrosse led wire-to-wire in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Semifinals, claiming a 9-4 victory on Wednesday night against the Saint Joseph's College Monks at Clemente Field. The Saints win advances them into the GNAC Championship Game for a second straight season.

With the win, the Saints move to 13-6 on the year and ride a six-game winning streak into Saturday's championship. The Monks season ends at 12-6 as they finish their year in the GNAC Semifinals for a second consecutive campaign.

The Saints were off to a dream start in the first quarter, retaining the majority of the possession on offense, breaking through just after five minutes into the frame with junior Madeline Wright scoring the opening goal. Just 37 seconds later, the Saints doubled their advantage with senior Dejaliyah Srimouksavanh finding the back of the net. Wright would tally the final goal of the quarter in Emmanuel's 3-0 start.

Wright finished off a first-half hat trick 3:01 into the second quarter, lifting the Saints lead to 4-0. The Monks opened their scoring on a free-position attempt, converted by senior Shauna Clark, cutting the deficit back to three. But like the first quarter, Wright capped off the scoring in the second, scoring on a player-up opportunity, helping the Saints to a 5-1 halftime lead.

Saint Joseph's made a run to start the second half, scoring two goals in a 2:49 span to pull within a pair. Junior Celia Melanson scored 48 seconds into the quarter, followed by a tally for junior Sophia Burton, as the Monks trailed 5-3.

With the momentum in the balance, the Saints recovered from the early Monks surge, retaking their four-goal lead by the end of the quarter. First-year Ella Stein and Srimouksavanh scored goals 2:09 apart, lifting the Saints to a 7-3 lead through three quarters.

The Monks were first on the board in the fourth with first-year Ella Highbarger getting Saint Joseph's back within three goals, but Saints senior goalie Isabella Thomas would continue her excellent night, making six saves in the fourth quarter, surrendering the only SJC fourth quarter goal to Highbarger.

Saints first-year Emilia Ferraro and senior Abby Brown put on the finishing touches of Wednesday's semifinal win, scoring 50 seconds apart, on the way to the final score of 9-4.

Wright finished with four goals and two assists for a six-point night in the win. Srimouksavanh added a pair of goals and assists, to go along with three ground balls. Thomas finished with a season-high 11 saves as she claims the win in the Saints goal.

Melanson was the only Monk with a multi-point evening, finishing with one goal and one assist. Clark added four ground balls and three caused turnovers with her third quarter goal. Senior goalie Morgan Wright made seven stops in goal on Wednesday, falling to 9-4 in the loss.

The Saints head into the GNAC Championship with a familiar opponent on the horizon. Awaiting the Saints is the No. 1 South seed, Johnson & Wales, which looks for its third straight GNAC Championship on Saturday, May 3 at 12:00 p.m. on Clemente Field. The Saints and Wildcats have met in the title game in three of the last five seasons, with Johnson & Wales claiming wins on both occasions.

Recap/Photo Courtesy of Johnson & Wales Athletic Communications

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior Madeleine Gould scored three times and classmates Neely Connor and Isabella Nugent each struck for two goals as the JWU (Providence) women's lacrosse team booked a return trip to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship with an 11-4 win over Norwich University Wednesday evening at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletic Complex.

The win sends the Wildcats (13-4) to the conference championship game for the ninth consecutive season, where they hold a 6-2 all-time record. The home team dominated the final 45 minutes of the contest, outshooting the Cadets 22-8 during that span and causing a total of 27 turnovers on the afternoon.

With the game tied at two entering the second, the Wildcats ripped off four unanswered goals to build a 6-2 lead. Gould scored twice while sophomore Alexa Pizzulli netted her first goal of the season.

The Cadets opened the second half scoring 1:29 into the stanza before JWU scored five unanswered goals to pull comfortably ahead by a score of 11-3. Junior Mila Kuilan, Nugent and Connor scored three times in a span of 1:47 to stretch the lead from four goals to seven and secure the Wildcats ninth trip to the GNAC Championship.

Senior Emma Glyman tallied six saves between the pipes for head coach Olivia Duarte, who also received six draw controls and three caused turnovers from Connor, a goal and two assists from junior Izzy Babb, and a pair of markers from Kuilan.

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 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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