Big Second Half Pushes Women's Lacrosse Past Pride, 20-11

WESTON, Mass. – Behind a flock of four Blue Jays who were on fire the entire game, the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's lacrosse team picked up a much-needed conference win on the road Tuesday over the Pride of Regis College (REG), 20-11, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest at Regis Stadium.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Saint Joseph 20, Regis 11
Records: USJ 3-5 (1-3 GNAC), REG 1-5 (1-3 GNAC)
Location: Regis Stadium | Weston, Mass.

Senior midfielder Jenna Banta (Montville, Conn.) went off in this one scoring a game-high seven goals, upping her season total to 32 which is currently third-most in the GNAC. Junior attack Cayleen DeFaranos (Northford, Conn.) had the best game of her career finishing with a career-high nine points. She tied her career-high with five goals and added a career-high four assists against the pride to account for the nine points. Junior attack Makenzie Dinger (Hingham, Mass.) remained the conference's top goal-getter. She potted four on the day to boost her total to 40 through eight games on the 2022 season. Dinger is now just 12 goals shy of passing Rose St. Hilaire's single-season USJ record of 51 goals in a season. Dinger and Banta have combined to score 72 of the Blue Jays' 100 goals this season (72%).

Sophomore midfielder Ana Nogueira (Trumbull, Conn.) also recorded the best outing of her career for USJ as well, scoring three and assisting on a pair for a career-high five points. Rounding out the scoring for Saint Joseph was freshman Morgan Rhoades (Windsor, Conn.) who found the back of the cage for the very first time of her career for the Blue Jays in the triumph. For Regis, junior midfielder Morgan Pero (Hartford, Vt.) and freshman midfielder Abbie Doheny (Lunenburg, Mass.) led the way with four goals apiece, while sophomore midfielder Madeline Conover (West Newbury, Mass.) dished out three assists.

Over a third of the game's goals were scored in the first period, with the visiting Blue Jays grasping to a 6-5 lead after one. An even second quarter (two goals each) made it a one-score game heading into the half. Both teams made their respective adjustments, but it was the Blue Jays that came out red-hot in the third quarter, outscoring the hosts, 5-2, including four straight to take a 13-8 lead. It would be too much to overcome for the Pride, which was outscored 7-2 in the final frame behind an onslaught of shots into the net for USJ from four different scorers.

COACH QUOTE [Karen Nell]
"The team was a little slow getting going, but we really started to put things together and pick up the intensity. Multiple people scored and added to the attack's success. The defense continued to work hard, the goalies played strong, and the team effort paid off today!"

NUMBER TO KNOW

40 – 40 goals for Dinger leads the GNAC. She needs 12 more goals to pass Rose St. Hilaire in 2016 for the most in a single season in USJ women's lacrosse history.

GOALIE BREAKDOWN

USJ – Senior captain and goalie Nina Lestrud (Torrington, Conn.) moved to 3-5 on the season with eight saves and nine goals allowed in just under 52 minutes of field time. Senior stopper Silvana Barcomb (Middletown, Conn.) also saw time between the pipes for the hosts to close it out.

REG – Sophomore stopper Grace Heffernan (Winchester, Mass.) received the loss (1-4), allowing 20 goals and making 10 saves in a full 60 minutes of action.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays are headed to the Chargers of Colby-Sawyer College on Saturday, March 26 at 1:00 p.m. for another GNAC road matchup. USJ is currently 2-2 away from West Hartford so far this season.

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