Preview: No. 4 Anna Maria at No. 2 Simmons - GNAC Championship
OVERVIEW
The fourth-seeded Anna Maria College field hockey team travels to No. 2 Simmons for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship game at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be held at Bridgewater State University. Live stats and live video will be available.
FAMILIAR GROUND
Saturday's game marks the fourth-straight appearance in a championship game for the AMCATS, as the team went to the NECC Championship in each of the last three years, winning the title in 2012 and 2013.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
After downing Lasell 3-0 in the first round of the tournament, the AMCATS traveled to top-seeded St. Joseph's, where they stunned the Monks with a 1-0 shutout. Junior Kylie Dalbec (Portland, Maine) scored for the AMCATS in the 54th minute and classmate Mary Kate Breen (Londonderry, N.H.) made some impressive saves in net to advance the AMCATS.
The Sharks defeated number three seed Johnson & Wales University, 5-2, on November 5 to advance to the finals.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Sharks edged Anna Maria in the teams' only meeting of the season, 1-0, on September 20 at AMCAT Field. Simmons controlled the match with a 21-6 shot advantage, while dominating the penalty corners, 12-2. Junior midfielder Amy Cronin tallied the lone goal, while sophomore keeper Brianna Rastello stopped both shots on cage for the Sharks. Anna Maria's Breen made 13 saves for the AMCATS. The teams are 1-1 against each other in the last decade.
SCOUTING THE AMCATS
Anna Maria has had four different goal scorers en route to a 4-0 goals advantage in tournament play. In addition to Dalbec's lone goal against St. Joseph's, the AMCATS downed Lasell on the strength of goals by Kayla Lapierre (Worcester, Mass.), Jacqueline Lapierre (Worcester, Mass.) and Kaitlyn Moran (Leicester, Mass.).
Dalbec, a junior, leads the entire GNAC in goals scored this season with 21, and also holds a league-best 47 points. Senior Nichole Lowe (Saugus, Mass.) has scored 13 goals this season and has a team-best 10 assists for 36 points.
The AMCATS defensive unit has played together all season, as a majority of them have played in all 20 games this season, including Katherine Albro (Leicester, Mass.), Sarah Bess (West Barnstable, Mass.), Jaqueline Lapierre and Emily Standring (Worcester, Mass.). Jaqueline Lapierre has two defensive saves this season, while Strandring leads the team in that category with four.
In the midfield, sophomore Kayla Garczynski (Norwood, Mass.), junior Kayla Lapierre and sophomore Moran have contributed on both sides of the ball. Kayla Lapeirre has a team third-best 21 points from seven goals and seven assists. Garczynski has tallied three goals and three assists this season for nine points, while Moran has scored four goals and also holds a defensive save.
Junior goalkeeper Breen has started in 20 of the team's 21 games this season. She holds an 11-7 record in net and has stopped 78 percent of the shots she's faced. Breen has 92 saves on the season, and allows an average of 1.50 goals per game.
SCOUTING THE SHARKS
Balance and depth have been huge keys for Simmons' success this season. The Sharks lead the GNAC with 3.3 goals per game, while posting a 1.13 goals against average to rank second in the league. Of the team's 56 goals scored this season, 20 of those tallies have come from players off the bench.
Freshman forward Julie Saltamartini leads the team with 30 points on 13 goals and four assists, while senior forward Kelly Williamson has racked up 23 points on 10 markers and three assists. Rookie forward Samantha Rondeau has been a key playmaker and scorer for the Sharks with seven goals and six helpers. Sophomore forward Jenna Gagnon could be the X-factor for Simmons.
Rastello has been named the league's Goalkeeper of the Week five times, owns a 1.25 GAA and has posted a .773 save percentage, while registering five shutouts. The Sharks' defense has allowed more than two goals in a match just three times and posted eight shutouts for the season. Senior Avery Hines and junior Alexia Malone Oliver have locked down the backfield for Simmons all season. The pair have provided a sense of security in conjunction with the team's defensive midfield.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
The winner of Saturday's game will be tabbed the first-ever GNAC Championship team and will represent the league at the NCAA Tournament, which kicks off on Wednesday. It would mark the first NCAA tournament appearance for the Sharks, and the second for the AMCATS, who took on Tufts last season in the NCAA first round.
