STANDISH, Maine – The 2023 season has come to close for the Simmons lacrosse team (14-5, 11-2 GNAC) in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) semifinals, falling to second seed Saint Joseph's College of Maine (16-3, 12-1 GNAC) on Wednesday.

Saint Joseph's controlled the pace of the play early, jumping out to a 3-0 lead behind goals from Lydia Dexter, Bridget Collins and Shauna Clark. Despite facing a three-goal deficit the Sharks were not giving in.  Late the first period, junior Julia Chausse connected with senior Sammi Hogan to break-up the shutout and put the Sharks on the boar.

The Monks answered with back-to-back tallies in the two-minute mark to go ahead by four, 5-1 However, graduate senior Abby Stoller found sophomore Frida Turriza in front of the net to pull the Sharks back to within three, 5-2, to end the first quarter.

Leading 5-2 at the start of the second stanza, the Monks added another two goals in the opening minutes to increase their lead to five. Midway through the period, Stoller netted a player-down goal to cut the Saint Joseph's advantage to four, but the Monks responded with their own player-down goal a minute later. Just before the end of the half, the Monks put themselves in front by six with Collins' fourth goal of the game.

When the teams returned to the field at the start of the second half, the game morphed into a defensive with the Monks holding onto a six-goal lead. Saint Joseph's extended its lead to seven midway through the period, but Stoller made it back six-goal game again registering her second goal of the game with two minutes left.

The two teams exchanged goals in the fourth period. Saint Joseph's scored early in the period, while senior Lauren Whitman connected with classmate Riley Campbell with over a minute to play in the contest for the fifth and final Simmons goal.

SIMMONS LACROSSE

• Graduate senior Abby Stoller led the Sharks with a pair of goals and an assist for three points on the night.
• Senior Riley Wasiuk tied her career single-game high, registering seven ground balls, while also winning four draw controls.
• Senior Emi Boedeker and sophomore Layla Drinkwater also won four draw controls for the Sharks.
• Sophomore Frida Turriza and seniors Sammi Hogan and Riley Campbell all found the back of the goal in the semifinals.
• Senior Lauren Whitman dished out pair of assists to Stoller and Campbell.