Regis Field Hockey Prepares for GNAC Semifinal Challenge

Regis Field Hockey Prepares for GNAC Semifinal Challenge

WESTON, Mass. – The Regis College field hockey team looks to extend its 2019 season further as it heads to Standish, Maine, to take on Saint Joseph's College in one semifinal of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Field Hockey Tournament Wednesday, Nov. 6, starting at 7 p.m.

For the fifth time in program history, the Pride have put together a five-match winning streak, starting with a 3-0 victory over Colby-Sawyer Oct. 19 and continuing through victories over Rivier, Albertus Magnus, and Johnson & Wales. This past Saturday, a second-period goal by Sheridan Blaha (Waltham, Mass.) was enough to give Regis a 1-0 victory over Anna Maria for the team's first-ever GNAC Tournament win.

Blaha was named GNAC Rookie of the Week for the fifth time this season after scoring her school single-season record 17th goal of the year. Meanwhile, Hope Winkin (Winslow, Maine) tied another school record, earning her sixth shutout of the season on her way to receiving GNAC Goalkeeper of the Week honors.

Saint Joseph's College (16-3) also brings a five-match winning streak into the semifinal contest, last playing Oct. 30 in a 4-2 victory at Colby-Sawyer. The Monks allowed a goal to a conference opponent for the first time since giving up one goal to Regis Sept. 14, but they have not lost to a GNAC foe in regular season or tournament play since a 2-1 loss at Lasell Oct. 7, 2017, winning 21 straight matches against league opponents.

Emma Rutledge leads the Monks with 12 goals and 31 total points as she has also dished out seven assists, while Alexa Gutowski has scored eight goals and three other players have earned six goals apiece. Alexandra Belaire, one of the Monk players with six goals, leads the team with 10 assists as well as three defensive saves.

Alexandria Simpson has started all 19 matches in goal for Saint Joseph's College, posting a 1.13 goals against average and a .782 save percentage with 68 total saves. Besides Belaire, Morgan Dalton has also been a stalwart defensively for the Monks, collecting two defensive saves so far this season.

This will be the 12th meeting between Regis and Saint Joseph's College since 2000, with the Monks holding a 7-4 advantage in the previous 11 matches. Saint Joseph's College has won the last five meetings over the Pride, with Regis' last victory over the Monks coming Oct. 1, 2006, a 2-1 Regis win in Standish.

In Regis' fourth match of the season Sept. 14, the Pride held the Monks scoreless through the first half, but Saint Joseph's scored twice in the third period and twice in the fourth period on its way to a 4-1 victory. Rutledge and Libby Pomerleau earned one goal and one assist apiece, while Olivia Esposito and Megan Quirion also scored for the Monks. Amelia Thomas (Hopkinton, N.H.) scored Regis' goal with 8:33 left in the fourth period off an assist from Mary Costantino (Abington, Mass.).

The winner of the Pride-Monks match will head to the tournament championship contest Saturday, Nov. 9, against the winner of the other semifinal taking place in Newton, Mass., Wednesday afternoon between third seed Simmons and second seed Lasell.

Regis brings an 8-10 overall record into the tournament match, the highest win total for the Pride since the 2016 season. After going 2-10 in CCC tournament play from 1994 to 2004, the Pride put together a 7-2 record in NECC tournament action from 2011 to 2016, including tournament titles in 2011, 2014, and 2016.