Home Teams Hold in GNAC Women’s Soccer Quarterfinals

GNAC WOMEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

WINTHROP, Mass. – All three home teams defended their home turf on Saturday (Oct. 28) in the 2023 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Soccer Quarterfinals. They all advance to the semifinal round, which is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 1.

No. 2 seed Emmanuel opened up a big lead against No. 7 seed Rivier and came away with a 6-0 win. Meanwhile, No. 3 seed Lasell and No. 4 seed Colby-Sawyer both pulled out come-from-behind, one-goal victories. The Lasers knocked off No. 6 seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 2-1, while the Chargers defeated No. 5 seed Regis, 3-2.

The final quarterfinal will be played tomorrow, Oct. 29 with No. 9 seed Elms traveling to No. 1 seed Johnson & Wales at 5 p.m.

In the semifinals on Wednesday, Emmanuel will host Lasell, while Colby-Sawyer will either travel to Johnson & Wales or host Elms.

The two semifinal winners will then meet for the 2023 GNAC Women's Soccer Championship match on Saturday, Nov. 4. The team that takes the conference crown will earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship.

#2 Emmanuel 6, #7 Rivier 0

Recap courtesy of the Emmanuel Athletic Communications Department.

BOSTON – Emmanuel women's soccer is on its way to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2019, following a 6-0 victory over the Rivier Raiders on Saturday afternoon at Clemente Field in the GNAC Quarterfinal Round. 

The two sides met just five days ago for Emmanuel's Senior Night with the Saints handing the Raiders a 7-0 defeat on Oct. 23.  

Emmanuel picked up where they left off on Monday, scoring in the ninth minute on a goal by first-year Ciara Horan. A free-kick taken by sophomore Annebel Balogh de Galantha from the top-right corner of the Rivier penalty area was sent toward the back post where an on-rushing Horan scored from close range, giving EC a 1-0 lead. 

Two minutes later, in the 11th, the Saints drew a penalty kick with Balogh de Galantha stepping up to take the shot. The second-year center back caught Raiders sophomore goalie Bri Nugent off-balance and slid the shot to the opposite side of the dive for a 2-0 edge. 

Sophomore Sarah Dullaghan scored the first of her three in the 14th minute, running onto a pass from senior Lily Tobin that got in behind the Rivier defense. Dullaghan fired a right-footed shot across her body and into the left side, putting Emmanuel up 3-0. 

Senior Adeline LeGault scored from close range in the 20th minute while Dullaghan scored her second of the half in the 28th, capping the first-half scoring for the Saints for a 5-0 halftime lead. 

Dullaghan finished off the hat trick in the 47th minute, scoring her team-leading 21st goal of the season while hitting her 50th point of the campaign. The sophomore forward is the first Saint player since 2009 to score at least 20 goals in a season and is just the second player in program history to have a 50-point year. 

The Saints 6-0 win is the largest playoff victory in program history. Dullaghan adds her name to an exclusive list, being just the third player in team history with a playoff hat trick, joining a 2019 hat trick by Megan McMillen ('22) and a 2007 performance by Amber Di Nucci ('11). 

Saints sophomore Gaby Baker (Grafton, Mass.) made a single save, improving to 16-2-0 this season. The shutout victory gives Baker the single-season program record for wins in a season and shutouts in a season. 

Nugent finished the match with three saves in 45 minutes. Junior Maya Puma made four saves, playing the second half for Rivier.

#3 Lasell 2, #6 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.)

Recap courtesy of the Lasell Athletic Communications Department.

NEWTON, Mass. - The Lasell women's soccer team defeated USJ on Saturday to advance to the GNAC Semifinals. The Lasers are now 12-5-2 on the season while the Blue Jays end the season at 8-7-3.

The Blue Jays got out front early when Jenna Zup scored in the sixth minute. But the Lasers would control the ball the rest of the half, and outshot USJ 11-3 in the half. They entered halftime trailing 1-0. But they would continue to fire shots in the second half and found an equalizer in the 59th minute when Camdyn LaMarre crossed the ball in to Evelyn DiFiore who fired it over the goalie, making it 1-1. The two teams would trade chances the rest of the half, but the key moment came with just second left in the game when Michelina D'Agostino made her way into the box, where she was fouled by the USJ goalie, earning the Lasers a penalty kick with just a minute remaining. D'Agostino stepped up to the dot and fired a shot into the back of the net for the game-winner.

The Lasers held the shot advantage at 21-11, as well as a 4-2 advantage at 4-2. Lataya Simmons won her 11th game of the season by stopping six shots.

#4 Colby-Sawyer 3, #5 Regis 2

Recap courtesy of the Colby-Sawyer Athletic Communications Department.

NEW LONDON, N.H. - The Colby-Sawyer women's soccer team registered a big second half to beat the Regis Pride 3-2 in regulation. 

Rapid Recap:

• The Pride jumped to an early 1-0 lead in the first four minutes of play, with Colleen Curran scoring off a cross from Maeve Glavin and misplay by the Chargers keeper. The Chargers would look for immediate response off of a corner service from senior Kara Keiper that would find junior Bridget O'Connell for a header shot which was saved by the keeper, Daniela Mazo. The two teams would continue to battle, both peppering keepers with shots and applying pressure to the others back lines. Galvin would give the Pride their 2-0 lead going into halftime with a rebound shot off of the hands of graduate student Alexis LeBreton. 
• The Chargers would come out of their halftime discussion firing on all cylinders with Keiper and graduate student Hannah Marquis both registering early shots on net. The pressure from the home team would lead to a loose ball in the box fed from Keiper which found the foot of O'Connell to notch the first score for the Chargers. The next twenty minutes of the match would stay in the momentum of the home squad maintaining the majority of possession. A breakaway on the sideline for senior Sam Bishop would lead to a perfect cross to O'Connell in the box, who would get a head on it to find the upper 90 of the net evening the score at 2 apiece. Minutes later a hustle play from Keiper on the far sideline would lead to a four on three opportunity for the Chargers. Keiper would feed the ball over the top of the back line finding Marquis who would place a header just over the reach of the keeper to take a 3-2 lead over the Pride. The Pride would earn a free kick in the 88th minute, playing a cross to Glavin but a clutch defensive save by Marquis would seal the victory for the Chargers. 

Inside the Numbers: 

• O'Connell lead the offensive push registering two goals on the afternoon, followed by Marquis notching the game winner. 
• Keiper and Bishop lead the passing with the seniors assisting all three Charger scores. 
• LeBreton would tab two saves and two goals against in their 48 minutes of play. First year Rylee Suchenicz earned her first collegiate win tabbing 41 minutes in goal with one save. 

2023 GNAC Women's Soccer Tournament Schedule

Play-In – Thursday, Oct. 26
(Hosted by higher seeds)

#7 Rivier def. #10 Albertus Magnus, 4-0 | BOX

Play-In – Friday, Oct. 27
(Hosted at Rivier University – Nashua, N.H.)

#9 Elms def. #8 Saint Joseph's (Maine), 1-1 (pen. 6-5 Elms) | BOX

Quarterfinals – Saturday, Oct. 28
(Hosted by higher seeds)

#2 Emmanuel def. #7 River, 6-0 | BOX
#3 Lasell def. #6 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 2-1 | BOX
#4 Colby-Sawyer def. #5 Regis, 3-2 | BOX

Quarterfinals – Sunday, Oct. 29
(Hosted by higher seeds)

#9 Elms at #1 Johnson & Wales, 5 p.m.

Semifinals – Wednesday, Nov. 1
(Hosted by higher seeds)

#1/9 Winner vs. #4 Colby-Sawyer, TBD
#3 Lasell at #2 Emmanuel, 7 p.m.

Championship – Saturday, Nov. 4

Semifinal winners, TBD

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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