Women's Lacrosse Advances to GNAC Semis with Win Over Monks

WESTON, Mass. - Sophomore Kerri Anselmo (Natick, Mass.) tallied five goals on Saturday afternoon, leading the Regis (Mass.) women's lacrosse team to a 9-6 win over Saint Joseph's (Me.) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference Quarterfinal at Regis Stadium.

With the win, the Pride improves to 13-4 on the season and advances to the GNAC Semifinals, where they will take on the top-seeded Johnson & Wales Wildcats on Tuesday evening at 6:00 p.m. The Monks see their season come to an end with a record of 11-5.

The two teams played a tightly contested opening half, as the teams hit the break all tied up at 3-3. The Monks got on the board first on the afternoon, as senior Elyse Caiazzo (Scarborough, Maine) broke the deadlock with an unassisted goal 6:46 in. Sophomore Madison Beaulieu (West Gardiner, Maine) extended the Monk lead to 2-0 three and a half minutes later, but Anselmo had a quick response for the hosts with 18:47 showing on the clock to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Caiazzo's second of the afternoon extended the Monks edge to 3-1 with just under eight and a half minutes remaining in the period, but Anselmo netted a pair of goals in the final six minutes of the half to even the score headed to the break.

Samantha Medlin (Kingston, Mass.) scored for the Monks to open the second half, but when freshman Rachel Nadeau (Coventry, Conn.) tied the game back up two and half minutes later, Caiazzo had a response to put her team on top 5-4 with 22:47 left. From there, however, it would be all Pride. Junior Malorie Kiehl (Burlington, Mass.) tallied her first goal of the game followed by a pair from Anselmo in a span of just 2:10 to give the Pride its first lead of the day at 7-5.

Caiazzo was able to get one back for Saint Joseph's after Anselmo's fifth goal of the day, but goals from sophomore Bridget Dowling (Hanover, Mass.) and Kiehl in the final 14:14 helped the Pride seal the win. 

Senior Maresa Malcolm (Barrington, N.J.) was stellar in net for the Pride in her final game at Regis Field, turning aside 13 shots to lift the Pride to the victory. At the opposite end of the field, sophomore Kaylin Mansir (West Gardiner, Maine) turned aside six shots for the Monks.

#RegisWLAX