Women's Lacrosse Comes Up Just Short, Falls To Elms Friday, 17-12

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's lacrosse team came up just short and fell to the Elms College Blazers (ELMS), 17-12, on Friday night under the lights in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) showdown on the USJ Lacrosse Field. With the setback, the Blue Jays dip to 5-8 overall on the season and 3-6 in conference play, while Elms improves to 5-4 overall and 4-4 in the league.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Saint Joseph 12, Elms 17
Records: USJ 5-8 (3-6 GNAC), Elms 5-4 (4-4 GNAC)
Location: USJ Lacrosse Field | West Hartford, Conn.

Junior Makenzie Dinger (Hingham, Mass.) once again did all she could offensively to try and lead the Blue Jays to victory by matching her career-high with nine goals for USJ, as well as a career-high 12 draw controls (she had 12 of 13 for the Blue Jays), however a balanced attack by the Blazers lifted the visitors to victory in a crucial conference contest in West Hartford on Friday night. A trio of Blazers scored four goals each, headlined by sophomore attack Elise Paier (West Springfield, Mass.), who scored a team-high six, including three of the team's final four. Sophomore midfielder Ana Nogueira (Trumbull, Conn.) scored the other three goals for Saint Joseph.

Dinger came out of the gates guns-blazing for USJ and scored the first three goals of the game in the opening 1:48 of the contest to give the Blue Jays an early 3-0 lead. However, Elms settled in and responded with the next three goals to level the match, 3-3, with 9:08 left to play in high-octane first period.

The Blue Jays answered with back-to-back goals, as Nogueira found the back of the cage for the first time, followed by the fourth goal of the contest from Dinger to make it 5-3 in favor of the hosts with 4:05 left to play in the opening quarter. However, the Blazers would close the first stanza with four-straight goals, including three from junior Anna-Elise Pikul (Belchertown, Mass.), to take the lead, 7-5, heading into the second period. Elms would never relinquish its lead for the remainder of the contest.

UP NEXT
The Blue Jays will look to bounce back and return to the win column when they are back in action next on Tuesday evening at home versus Emmanuel College for another GNAC contest. The opening draw between the Blue Jays and Saints is set for 6:00 p.m. on the USJ Lacrosse Field in West Hartford.

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