NEWTON, Mass. -- The number three seed Simmons University field hockey team was defeated by host second-seeded Lasell University, 2-0, this afternoon in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship Tournament Semifinals at Grellier Field in Newton, Mass. The Sharks finish their season at 8-12, while the Lasers improve to 10-9 and advance to the GNAC Championship match for the third straight year on November 9, taking on the winner of top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (Maine) and number five seed Regis College.
Lasell scored both of its goals early in the second quarter and owned a 17-10 shot advantage for the match. Simmons held a 6-5 edge in penalty corners.
The Lasers got on the board just 67 seconds into the second quarter as senior Sam Taylor (Hanover, Mass.) dribbled through the Sharks defense and passed the ball from outside the circle to junior Megan Horrigan (Wakefield, Mass.) just in front of the goal for a shot just inside the left post for her fifth goal of the season and a 1-0 lead with 13:53 showing in the quarter.
Lasell kept the pressure on, scoring again 63 seconds later when it took advantage of a penalty corner. Kaylie Gonya sent the insert pass to senior Brooke Landry (New Milford, Conn.), who fired a shot from the left side, before first year Mya Maxim (South China, Maine) redirected the shot near the right goal post for her seventh marker of the season with 12:50 showing on the second quarter clock. The goal proved to be the last tally of the match as both teams were kept off the board for the final 42:50 of play. The Lasers attempted all three shots of the second quarter and took a 2-0 margin into the intermission.
Lasell nearly extended its lead late in the fourth quarter but was denied on a defensive save by Simmons junior Abby Anderson (South Yarmouth, Mass.).
Taylor finished with five shots to top the Lasers, while sophomore forward Emily Plummer (San Diego, Calif.) fired five shots to lead the Sharks.
Junior goalie Lucy McNamara (Brewster, Mass.) turned away 11 shots for Simmons to record her fourth straight contest with 10 or more saves and her 10th effort of the season with double-digit saves. She finishes the season with 172 saves for the third-highest single-season total in school history. Sophomore keeper Sofia Rodriguez (Peabody, Mass.) stopped all eight shots she faced to register her third shutout of the year.
Senior Olivia Trull (Lowell, Mass.) finishes her career standing second on the Sharks all-time games played list with 77, while scoring 23 goals and adding 11 assists for 57 points. Classmate Hannah Scott (Claremont, N.H.) closes out her tenure with 71 games play and 18 points on six goals and six assists. Senior backs Krystianna Pietrzak (Bennington, Vt.) and Megan Pereira (New Bedford, Mass.) end their careers with 57 and 31 games played, respectively.