BOSTON, Mass. – Junior midfielder Greer Gilbert (Falmouth, Mass.) tallied seven or more points for the third straight game to lead the Simmons College women's lacrosse team in an 18-13 loss to visiting Emmanuel College this afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at Winsor Field in Boston, Mass. The Sharks' three-match win streak comes to an end as they fall to 4-6 overall and 2-3 in league play, while the Saints extend their win streak to six straight to improve to 8-1 and 4-1.
Emmanuel never trailed in the match, although the score was tied three times, including at 5-5 with 7:47 left in the first half following a goal from Simmons junior midfielder Greer Gilbert (Falmouth, Mass.). The Saints scored three of the half's final four goals to take an 8-6 margin with goals from senior middie Sarah Wooten (Berlin, Md.), junior midfielder Kristen Tuleja (Mansfield, Mass.) and senior attacker Madison Altwies (Southington, Conn.), who found the back of the net with just eight ticks left in the opening period. Gilbert scored the Sharks' marker during the final minute of the first half.
Emmanuel tallied five of the first six goals of the second stanza to open up a 13-7 advantage at the 18:41 mark, including a pair of goals from Tuleja and single scores by junior midfielder Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.), senior middie Alexia Basile (West Hartford, Conn.) and sophomore attacker Amanda Cook (Saco, Maine). Junior attacker Alexa Faria (Cumberland, R.I.) scored for Simmons in the opening minutes of the half.
First year midfielder Kasey Fries (Bridgewater, Mass.) cut the deficit to 13-8 for the Sharks with her 20th goal of the season on a free position shot at 17:43, but Cook and Tuleja countered for the Saints with a goal each in a span of 20 seconds to bump their margin to 15-8. Simmons looked to rally, finding the back of the net with three unanswered goals from junior midfielder Alexia Malone Oliver (Bristol, R.I.), Gilbert and sophomore midfielder Sara Rademacher (North Haven, Conn.) to pull the home team to within 15-11 with 13:40 remaining in the contest, but it was as close as the Sharks would get for the match.
Wooten and Tuleja netted back-to-back goals for Emmanuel, before Simmons struck for consecutive markers of its own, courtesy of Faria and Gilbert to set the score at 17-13, before first year midfielder Stephanie Warn (Hanson, Mass.) tallied the final score of the day for the Saints with 3:54 showing on the second half clock.
Tuleja now has a team-high 41 points on the season, including 31 goals to top Emmanuel as well. She added five draw controls, a ground ball and a caused turnover, while Wooten and sophomore attacker Emily Baker (Stratham, N.H.) each scored two goals apiece to go with an assist. In addition, Wooten won seven draws, picked up five ground balls and caused a pair of turnovers, while Baker registered two ground balls and a caused turnover. Warn finished with four points on two goals and two assists, while sophomore defensive middie Savannah Lundwall (Fiskdale, Mass.) led all players with six ground balls and added three caused turnovers.
Gilbert led the Sharks with seven points, including five goals and recorded a game-high eight draw controls and four caused turnovers in addition to two ground balls. Fries ended the afternoon with three goals and an assist and Faria picked up a pair of goals. Senior attacker Stephanie Oliveri (Waltham, Mass.) turned in a multiple-point effort with a goal and an assist to go with three ground balls, while senior defender Symonne Fontenot (Portmouth, N.H.) collected five ground balls and caused two turnovers.
Junior goalie Lauren White (Lynnfield, Mass.) stopped three shots to earn the victory for the Saints, while senior Crystal Derosier (Kingston, Mass.) turned away nine shots for Simmons.
The Sharks will be in action again on Wednesday, April 8 when they travel to Providence, R.I. to take on GNAC foe Johnson & Wales University at 7:00 p.m., while Emmanuel hosts Saint Joseph's College (Maine) on April 6 at 7:00 p.m. at Roberto Clemente Field.