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.