NEWTON, Mass. -- The Mount Ida College field hockey team (10-7, 2-4 GNAC), coming off their first winning season in the program's three year history, will face off in the First Round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament on Saturday when they travel to cross-town rival Lasell College for a date with the Lasers.
The Mustangs finished the regular season this past Monday night with a 3-1 win over Anna Maria, after the game had to be postponed last Friday night just 15:00 minutes into the opening half due to inclement weather.
Head Coach Nicole Poli, in her third season, and the Mustangs are hungrier than ever and are looking forward to playing the Lasers for the second time this year, with a lot more at stake this time around.
"Last year being the first postseason appearance for the program, and seeing how that game concluded, has made the girls hungry and eager to go out and get our first playoff win in the history of Mount Ida field hockey," explained Poli. This time around, and not having to travel all that far away for the First Round, the Mustangs will be ready.
The 12:00 PM contest will be fourth-seeded Lasell's first action in nine days, but the Lasers finished the regular season with back-to-back wins over non-conference opponents Western Connecticut State and Framingham State to move their record to (11-6, 2-4 GNAC).
The Monks of St. Joseph's College of Maine and the Sharks of Simmons College clinched the tournament's top two seeds and will play the winners of Saturday's Lasell vs Mount Ida and Anna Maria vs Johnson and Wales contests in the semifinals on Wednesday, November 2nd. The Lasers beat Mount Ida 3-1 back on October 8th, while losing a one-goal game to each other playoff opponent.
Mount Ida and Lasell were two of the top offensive teams in the GNAC this season, scoring 2.8 and 3.0 goals per game, respectively. The Lasers scored the second-most goals in the conference with 48 while allowing fewer than only top-seeded St. Joe's.
Freshman Grace Ryan (Livermore Falls, Maine) has started every game but one in goal for the Mustangs, earning nine of the team's ten wins this season while making 84 saves.
Laser junior goalkeeper Denise Landry (New Milford, Conn.) was the backstop to Lasell's strong defensive effort, finishing second in the conference with a 1.37 goals-against average and .788 save percentage. Landry made 12 saves in the Lasers' two latest contests en route to earning her third GNAC Goalkeeper of the Week honor this past Monday.
Mount Ida sophomore Sarah Hemstock (Northford, Conn.) and junior Lexi Minicucci (Westfield, Mass.) have both scored 11 goals on the season, while Hemstock — who scored the Mustangs' lone goal this year against Lasell — leads the team in points by a single assist.
Mustang freshman Taylor Lincoln (Rye, N.H.) and sophomore Patty Ryan (Livermore Falls, Me.) have combined for thirteen goals this year while teammate Melissa McNamara (Wilmington, Mass.) has tallied four of her own while notching one helper.
Sophomore Cailin Flannery (Medford, N.J.) led the Lasers offensively for the second consecutive season, posting 33 points on the season to rank fourth in the GNAC. She did not score against Mount Ida during the regular season, but assisted on two second-half goals in the 3-1 Lasell win.
The GNAC Rookie of the Year in 2015, Flannery scored three or more points in a game seven times this season, including a five-point effort to open conference play Sept. 10 against Rivier. Her nine assists are tied for the conference lead.
Samantha Taylor (Hanover, Mass.) made a splash for the Lasers in her first collegiate season, tying Flannery for the team lead with 12 goals while totaling 27 points. Taylor was held without a point in only four of Lasell's 19 games, and her tenth goal this year was a key insurance tally against Mount Ida.
During the game, the Laser Nation student fan club will be selling slices of Pizza from NY Pie for $1. All proceeds will go directly to the family of Peter Eyong, a near and dear Lasell staff member who lost his daughter to illness last week.
The first round is set for Grellier Field at 12:00 PM and the game can be viewed live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/lasell/. A live stats link will also be available on Saturday during the game.
Content Courtesy of Lasell College Sports Information