BRIGHTON, Mass. – The third seed Simmons lacrosse (14-4) advances to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) semifinals for the second straight year with a 15-2 victory over sixth seed Dean College (9-9) on Friday evening.

Sophomore Frida Turriza registered a natural hat-trick with three unassisted goals in the first 10 minutes to give the Sharks the quick, 3-0 advantage. With just over five minutes to play in the quarter Simmons took advantage of the player up opportunity. Senior Lauren Whitman connected with fellow senior Sammi Hogan to make it a 4-0 game, before Whitman buried the Sharks fifth goal less than two minutes later.

The Sharks continued to keep the pressure on the Bulldogs as the second quarter began. Junior Julia Chausse connected with graduate student Abby Stoller to ignited a 5-0 run. Stoller scored three times during the string, while Whitman added a goal and connected with Stoller for an assist. With just over 90 seconds to play in the half, Dean's Haley Gaunt broke up the shutout with the Bulldogs first goal. However, Sharks' sophomore Maddie Desimio-Maloney got the goal right back scoring with 54 seconds to send Simmons into the locker room with an 10 goal lead.

When the teams return to the field at the start of the second half, momentum stayed with the Sharks. Stoller added her fourth goal of the game early on. Midway through the third quarter, junior Cameron Richards increased the lead to 12 with another unassisted goal. 

At the start of the fourth quarter, Richards connected with graduate student Kayla Boulas on the player advantage to make it a 14-1 game. Gaunt scored the Bulldogs second goal of the game midway through the period, but it was not enough. Chausse and Stoller connected to the third time all game to give the Sharks the 15-2 victory and propel them onto the GNAC semifinals.

SIMMONS HIGHLIGHTS

• Graduate senior Abby Stoller led all scorers with five goals.
• Sophomore Frida Turriza set the tone early, opening with a trio of goals, while also adding an assist on senior Lauren Whitman's goal to end the first quarter.
• Whitman finished the game with two goals and two assists for four points.
• Senior Sammi Hogan registered a goal and an assist, while also scooping up three ground balls in the victory.

UP NEXT
No. 3 Simmons advances the GNAC semifinals for the second straight year where they will face No. 2 Saint Joseph's College of the Maine on Wednesday, May 3.