Women's Lacrosse Bested By Monks Saturday, 20-10

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's lacrosse team dropped a 20-10 decision to the Monks of Saint Joseph's College of Maine (SJC), in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) home match, on the USJ Lacrosse Field Saturday afternoon.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Saint Joseph's (Me.) 20, Saint Joseph (Conn.) 10
Records: SJC 6-0 (2-0 GNAC), USJ 2-5 (0-3 GNAC)
Location: USJ Lacrosse Field | West Hartford, Conn.

Senior midfielder Jenna Banta (Montville, Conn.) tied a game-high with five goals, leading the charge for USJ. Junior attack Makenzie Dinger (Hingham, Mass.) added three more goals to up her total to 36 for the season, which currently leads the GNAC. Her 38 points is tied for second in the conference. The duo combined for eight of 10 goals for Saint Joseph. Banta meanwhile is currently tied for third in the GNAC with 25 goals in 2022. Dinger and Banta have combined to score 61 of the Blue Jays 80 goals this season (76%).

Graduate student attack Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine.) was the one to watch Saturday as she exploded for 13 points on the day (5 goals, 8 assists) to extend her conference lead with 58 points. No other player even has 40 points on the season. Her presence was well known as the Monks scored at least three goals in all four periods.

SJC got off to a strong start leading 6-1 after one period. The Blue Jays hung tough with an even 4-4 second stanza, going into the half only down by five, 10-5. The Monks scored the first four of the third to pull away though, leading by nine at that point and going on to win by 10. USJ has lost its last three and will look to rebound next week in a pair of road GNAC matches.

COACH QUOTE [Karen Nell]
"I think the team played really hard and we were very gritty most of the day. We just made too many mistakes and gave up some of our opportunities to possess the ball. We fought right to the last second, and kept up with a team that is undefeated, so we are proud of the effort and we will continue to build on our execution moving forward."

NUMBER TO KNOW

36 – 36 goals for Dinger leads the GNAC. Assuming she plays every game this season, she is on pace for 87 goals, by far a new program record. The all-time single season program record for USJ is 51 set by Rose St. Hilaire in 2016.

GOALIE BREAKDOWN

SJC – Freshman goalie Morgan Wright (Chelmsford, Mass.) picked up the win (2-0) in 30 minutes of action. She allowed five goals and made six saves. Freshman Jenna Shutt (Holliston, Mass.) and freshman Mackenzie Baston (Gray, Maine) also saw time for the Monks.

USJ – Senior captain and goalie Nina Lestrud (Torrington, Conn.) dipped to 2-5 on the season with 12 saves, matching a career-high, but allowed 19 goals in 52:30 of time to suffer the setback. Senior stopper Silvana Barcomb (Middletown, Conn.) also saw time between the pipes for the hosts.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays are headed to Regis College on Tuesday, March 22 at 4:00 p.m. for a GNAC road matchup against the Pride.

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