WESTON, Mass. – The Regis College women's lacrosse team fell victim to Mother Nature at the start of the 2019 season, as the Pride's first three scheduled matches were either postponed or cancelled. When Regis finally opened its competition schedule March 12, it suffered a 16-7 loss to Utica.
The Pride would not lose again until April 24, a span of 43 days. Regis put together a 13-match winning streak, a new program record, on its way to a historic 15-3 season and a trip to the finals of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament.
After three comfortable wins, the Pride hosted Simmons Saturday, March 23, scoring six unanswered goals on their way to a 9-5 victory. Regis would then prevail in its toughest challenges to date, first earning a road win at UMass Dartmouth, 12-11, as Alyssa Kelly (Lee, Mass.), Mount Ida's all-time leading scorer before transferring to Regis, scored the eventual game-winning goal with 2:03 left in regulation.
Just two days later, Kelly scored four goals, and the Pride held off a late rally to defeat rival Lasell, 11-10. After winning the first two matches of a three-game road swing, Regis found itself in a battle at Saint Joseph's College, as the Monks scored twice in the final 3:21 of regulation to force overtime before Kelly set up Jordyn Ringuette (Colchester, Conn.) 2:19 into the extra period to give Regis an 11-10 victory.
Four victories later, Regis hosted Johnson & Wales on the final day of the regular season with the top seed in the conference tournament at stake. Although the Pride lost to the Wildcats, they were still the second seed in the postseason tournament with home field advantage through the first two rounds.
After beating Emmanuel, 13-5, the Pride hosted Lasell in the semifinals. The Lasers took an early 5-2 lead before Regis scored six of the next eight goals to pull ahead at halftime, 8-7. Lasell retook the lead early in the second half, 9-8, but the Pride rattled off six of the next seven goals, led by three tallies from Kerri Anselmo (Natick, Mass.), to establish a 14-10 advantage with 11:48 remaining in the second half.
Lasell battled back, scoring four goals in just over five minutes to pull into a 14-14 tie. The Lasers had two opportunities to pull ahead, but both shots were turned away by Regis goalie Brittany McPherson (Lynn, Mass.). After gaining possession and calling timeout with 1:13 left in the second half, Regis put together a successful clear, and Anselmo proceeded to earn a free position attempt. Anselmo converted on that opportunity with 30 seconds remaining on the clock to put the Pride ahead. Lasell won the ensuing draw control, but the Pride defense forced the Lasers to use a lot of time entering their offensive zone, and a last-ditch shot sailed wide.
Although the season ended in the tournament final at Johnson & Wales, Regis was able to enjoy significant accolades, starting with setting new program records for most conference wins at 10 and tying the record for most overall victories with 15. Meghan Sargent (Brattleboro, Vt.), another transfer from Mount Ida, received GNAC Defender of the Year honors, while McPherson picked up GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year recognition and Courtney Duggan was named GNAC Coach of the Year.
Anselmo broke the Regis records for most assists in a season (40) and in a career (80), plus she moved into third place in the career points list (251) as well as into a tie for third place for career goals (171). McPherson set a new school record for most goalie wins in a season (15), and she moved into first place in career save percentage (53.8%) and career goals against average (7.67).
In the midst of its best season in program history, the Regis College women's lacrosse team still maintained a high level of academic success, as four members of the 2018-19 squad were named to the Zag Sports Division III Academic Honor Roll and the team as a whole was named a Zag Sports Academic Honor Squad by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA).
Defender Kiana Koke (Queensbury, N.Y.), the 2018-19 Female Regis-Casserly Award recipient and president of Regis' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee last year, was one of the four Pride players named to the Academic Honor Roll. She was joined by three student-athletes who will be entering their senior year in 2020: Anselmo, Mary Costantino (Abington, Mass.), and Bridget Dowling (Hanover, Mass.).
In total, 13 players from the 2019 campaign are expected to return in 2020, giving the Pride a strong chance to once again perform at a high level.