BOSTON — The Emmanuel College women's lacrosse team put on a dominant home performance Saturday afternoon, rolling past Norwich University 18-7 at Clemente Field to improve to 4-2 overall and a perfect 3-0 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play.
Junior Madeline Wright was nearly unstoppable, pouring in a game-high seven goals to lead all scorers, matching a career-high. She scored in every quarter and notched her biggest stretch in the third period, tallying four goals to help Emmanuel build an insurmountable lead. Wright also won nine draw controls and had three ground balls on the day.
The teams traded goals early in the contest, with Emmanuel holding just a 3-2 lead after the first quarter. But then the Saints exploded for five goals in the second period and a massive six-goal third quarter — with Wright accounting for four of them — to open a 14-5 lead heading into the fourth. Emmanuel added four more in the final frame to seal the emphatic victory.
The Saints converted four of their free-position opportunities and capitalized on a yellow card issued to Norwich's Vivian Buntin early in the third quarter, with Colby Magoon scoring a man-up goal for Norwich before Emilia Ferraro answered with a man-down tally of her own just minutes later — one of the more memorable sequences of the afternoon.
Ferraro added four goals — including the remarkable man-down tally in the third — while Ella Stein and Anna Nichols each chipped in two. Daphne Blake rounded out the scoring with one goal and paced the team with three assists. Avery Robillard, who also recorded an assist, was active all over the field with three ground balls and three turnovers forced.
Emmanuel dominated nearly every statistical category. The Saints out-shot Norwich 34-17, put 28 shots on goal compared to Norwich's 13, and won the ground ball battle 17-15. Emmanuel's 13 draw control wins — many of which went to Wright — were instrumental in keeping the Saints in continuous attack mode.
Goalkeeper Keira Walsh (4-2) was solid between the pipes, making six saves to earn the win.
Up Next
With the win, Emmanuel sits in sole control of first place in the GNAC at 3-0. The Saints will look to carry this momentum when they host Wheaton College on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. at Clemente Field and their next conference matchup on the road at Saint Joseph's College of Maine next Saturday.
