Simmons Lacrosse defeated Great Northeast Athletic Conference opponent Saint Joseph College of Connecticut, 22-2, on Saturday afternoon to open conference play. With the win, the Sharks extend their win streak to three games and improve to 3-1 overall (1-0 GNAC). The loss is the second of the season for the Blue Jays who are now 0-2 overall and 0-1 in GNAC play.
Simmons got on the board first with a quick goal from freshman Taylor Nisbet (Dartmouth, Mass.) off an assist from sophomore Amanda Cardinal (South Hadley, Mass.) 1:10 seconds into the first half. The Sharks would continue to dominate, connecting on 12 of their 20 first half shots. Junior Diana Soucier scored the first Bluejays goal of the game with 59 seconds left in the first half.
Simmons continued to control the board in the second half with 10-14 shooting. Ten different Sharks contributed goals along with eight players adding assists on the win. Nisbet led the way with five goals followed by sophomore Rachel Wallace (Braintree, Mass.) with four goals and thee assists. Freshman Leanne Luke (Newton, Mass.) and sophomore Zoie Kaley (Manchester, Maine) added three apiece. The second and final goal of the game for SJC came again from Soucier unassisted 10 minutes into the second half.
Sophomore Kelly Last (West Haven, Conn.) picked up the win for the Sharks with six saves, while Noelle Bellefleur made the start and picked up the loss for the visitors with five stops.
The Sharks will host St. Joseph's (ME) on Wednesday at 7:00pm. SJC will return to action on Monday night against Mt. St. Mary (NY) beginning at 4:00pm.
