BOSTON, Mass. – The Mount Ida College women's lacrosse team was eliminated from the 2015 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) postseason after a 22-6 loss to fourth seeded Emmanuel College on Wednesday evening at Roberto Clemente Field.
The fifth-seeded Mustangs finished their season with a 5-11 record after making their fifth postseason appearance in program history, while the Saints tied their single-game goal record in improving to 12-3 on the season.
Rebecca Beaulieu (Weare, N.H.) and Amanda Bowen (Randolph, Vt.) each scored twice in the game for Mount Ida, with Bowen ending her Mount Ida career with a record 202 goals.
In a highly contested game early on, the Saints scored first to take a 1-0 lead on a goal by junior Sarah Higgins (Groveland, Mass.) but Mount Ida answered immediately, tying the game at 1-1 on a tally by Beauleiu. Emmanuel regained the lead at 2-1 on an Amanda Cook (Saco, Maine) goal but the Mustangs responded with a strike by sophomore Nikki Kineen (Salem, N.H.) to even the score at 2-2 with 23:05 to play in the half.
The Saints took control of the action over the next eight minutes, going on a 4-0 run to open up a 6-2 lead. Senior middie Sarah Wootten (Berlin, Md.) scored two of the goals during the run including the marker at 15:30 to give Emmanuel the four-goal cushion.
Mount Ida junior Samantha Basler (Plymouth, Mass.) cut the lead in half with a goal to make it 6-3 but Emmanuel put the game out of reach, rattling off the next seven goals to build a 13-3 lead. Wootten, junior middie Kristen Tuleja (Mansfield, Mass.) and senior attack Madison Altwies (Southington, Conn.) all scored twice during the spurt.
Emmanuel was almost able to keep Bowen, the GNAC's leading scorer, off the scoreboard in the first half but the senior found the back of the net with 1:04 to play in the opening stanza to pull Mount Ida to single digits at 13-4. The Saints closed the half strong with back-to-back scores by senior middie Alexia Basile (West Hartford, Conn.) to account for a 15-4 halftime score.
In the second half, Bowen and Beaulieu each added their second goals of the game for the Mustangs while seven different Saints scored for Emmanuel to account for the 22-6 final.
Wootten finished the evening with a game-high nine points on five goals and four assists while Tuleja chipped in with six points on three goals and three assists.
Mount Ida freshman Sydney Fredette (Hudson, Mass.) came up with nine saves, while Emmanuel junior goalie Lauren White (Lynnfield, Mass.) earned the win, her 12th of the year, making two saves.
The Saints will travel to No. 1 Saint Joseph's (ME) for the GNAC Semifinals this Friday, April 24 for a rematch of the 2014 GNAC Championship game in which the Saints defeated the Monks, 17-7.