STANDISH, Maine – Regis College battled back from a four-goal deficit in the first half, took the lead late in regulation, withstood two goals by Saint Joseph's College to force overtime, and then scored the game-winning goal in the extra session to defeat the Monks, 11-10, Saturday in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's lacrosse match at the SJC Athletic Complex.
Down 6-2 after five straight Monk goals midway through the first half, the Pride started their comeback with goals by Rachel Nadeau (Coventry, Conn.) and Taylor Assarian (Arlington, Mass.) just under two minutes apart. Alyssa Kelly (Lee, Mass.) scored on a free position attempt to cut the Regis deficit to one, but Josie Ring scored off an assist by Kara Kelly with 37 seconds left in the first half to give Saint Joseph's a 7-5 halftime advantage.
Kayla Kelly converted on a free position opportunity early in the second half to increase the Monk lead to three, but the Pride roared back, as Assarian scored an unassisted goal and then assisted on a tally by Jordyn Ringuette (Colchester, Conn.) 1:49 later. After seven-and-a-half minutes of back-and-forth action without a goal, Ringuette struck again, this time off an assist by Kerri Anselmo (Natick, Mass.), to tie the match at 8-8 with 13:40 remaining in regulation.
Just over two-and-a-half minutes later, Regis took advantage of a Monk yellow card, as Emily Kosak (Milton, Mass.) was successful on a free position attempt to put the Pride on top. Anselmo found Kelly with 7:32 left in the second half to give Regis a two-goal advantage at 10-8.
Saint Joseph's (6-5, 6-2 GNAC) closed to within one with 3:21 showing on the clock on a goal by Lydia Dexter, and then the Monks were able to stay within one thanks to a save by Madelyn Nelson. However, after the Monks gained possession, Brittany McPherson (Lynn, Mass.) made two saves in an eight-second span to keep the Pride on top heading into the final stretch of regulation.
Regis had an opportunity to add to its lead, but a shot by Anselmo hit the crossbar and a free position attempt by Ringuette was turned away by Nelson. Saint Joseph's gained possession, and Logan Champlin scored on a free position opportunity with 53 seconds left in regulation to tie the contest at 10-10, where it would stay the rest of the second half.
In overtime, Saint Joseph's gained initial possession and took three shots in the span of a minute, but two were off-target and McPherson saved the other one. Regis took possession, and eventually Kelly found Ringuette, who completed her hat trick with a goal 2:19 into the extra session to keep the Pride undefeated in GNAC play.
Kelly also notched a hat trick to go along with the game-winning assist, while Assarian finished with two goals and two assists and Anselmo contributed one goal and three assists. Maddy Rodriguez (Amherst, Mass.) helped the Pride earn possession with five ground balls and three draw controls, Meghan Sargent (Brattleboro, Vt.) caused three turnovers, and McPherson collected seven saves in her first career overtime victory.
Ring and Dexter earned three goals apiece for the Monks, and Kayla Kelly finished with two goals and six draw controls as Saint Joseph's collected more draw controls than Regis, 13-9. Nelson made six saves to keep the Monks in the match.
Regis (9-1, 7-0 GNAC) will play three home matches in the span of five days, starting Tuesday, April 9, against Thomas College starting at 4 p.m. The Pride return to league play against Albertus Magnus Wednesday, April 10, at 6 p.m., followed by the One Love game against Colby-Sawyer Saturday, April 13, at 12 p.m., which will also be Senior Day.