BOSTON - The No. 2-seeded Emmanuel Saints women's lacrosse team was put to the test on Saturday afternoon in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinals, escaping upset alert with a 10-8 victory over New England College from Clemente Field. The Saints improve to 14-4 in the win, while the Pilgrims drop to 11-7.
Saints senior
Madeline Wright opened the scoring on Saturday before three consecutive NEC tallies put the Pilgrims in front 3-1. The Saints and Pilgrim traded goals in the final 3:04 of the first quarter, as the visitor's led 4-2 after 15 minutes.
Pilgrims
Riley Davis found the opening tally of the second quarter, giving NEC their largest lead of the day at 5-2, but from that point, the Saints rattled off five straight goals to grab the lead. The Saints held the Pilgrims off the board for over 30 minutes in the five-goal run, as both defenses were difficult to break on Saturday afternoon.
The five-goal run started with a pair of goals by sophomore
Anna Nichols, split by a goal for Wright, all in the second quarter, as the game headed for halftime tied at 5-5.
Emmanuel found its way back in front in the third quarter with Wright scoring the lone goal of the frame, with 8:02 to go, as the Saints headed to the fourth with a one-goal lead. Wright was back on the board just 13 seconds into the fourth quarter, as the Saints held a 7-5 lead, early in the fourth.
Three of the next four goals belonged to the Pilgrims, as the visitors finally broke through the Emmanuel defense, leaving the game tied 8-8, with 7:16 to go.
Less than a minute later, senior
Avery Robillard took a pass from sophomore
Ella Stein to regain the lead. The Saints added an insurance tally with 3:26 remaining with first-year
Daphne Blake earning a critical ground ball near the Pilgrims net. Blake then found fellow first-year
Delaney Johnston alone in front, as the rookie combo helped the home side to a 10-8 lead.
Emmanuel's defense locked back into their form from the second and third quarters, not allowing another shot in the final 3:26, as the Saints passed Saturday's test with a 10-8 win.
Wright scored a game-high five goals and, in the process, became just the 16th player in NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse history to reach 300 career goals. Nichols added three goals and four draw controls. Senior
Halle Miller was part of the stellar Saints defense, finishing the day with career-highs of seven caused turnovers and seven ground balls.
The Saints head into the GNAC Semifinals on Tuesday, April 28, hosting the No. 3-seeded Norwich Cadets on Clemente Field at 7:00 p.m.
