Athletics News

October 2007 News Archive



Athletic News - October 2007

Parker Notches 1,000th Career Kill

October 22, 2007 - The Emmanuel Women's Volleyball Team won two GNAC matches in straight sets on Saturday, defeating both Simmons College and Daniel Webster College. Junior outside hitter Lindsey Parker (New Bedford, MA) led the Saints in both matches, tallying 8 kills against Simmons and 17 against Daniel Webster. Parker entered the weekend just 21 kills shy of her 1,000th kill in her career. She reached the highly coveted milestone in the 3rd game of Emmanuel's home match with Daniel Webster. In doing so, Parker became just the second player in program history to record 1,000 kills.

Senior setter Jen Walsh (West Springfield, MA) dished out a team-high 28 assists in the two matches. Junior libero Amanda Machado (Swansea, MA) gathered 37 digs, while senior middle-hitter Ashley O'Neill (Tyngsboro, MA) led the team with 6 blocks. With the two wins, the Saints improved to 8-20 on the season and 5-5 in the GNAC. The team will travel to Providence, RI to take on the 1st place Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University on Tuesday night (10/23).

The Women's Soccer Team clinched first place in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference on Sunday night after a 1-1 double-overtime tie with Emerson College. The Lions began the scoring with a goal in the first half, just 28 minutes into the game. Emmanuel's defense held off Emerson's attack for the remainder of the half and the Lions took a 1-0 lead into halftime. The Saints struck back with just 15 minutes to play. Sophomore midfielder Kate McKenna (Holyoke, MA) completed a penalty-kick opportunity to tie the game. McKenna is now 3-3 on penalty kicks for the season. Regulation ended with the game knotted at 1-1. The Saints and the Lions were evenly matched in the two overtimes, with each team taking 5 shots apiece, but neither team could find the back of the net. The Saints out-shot the Lions, 24-17, for the game. Junior goalkeeper Laureyn Furtney (Barrington, NH) played the full 110:00 minutes in goal for Emmanuel, making 9 saves in the game. The Saints wrapped up regular season conference play with an unprecedented undefeated record (12 wins, 0 losses, and 1 tie). The Saints are 13-2-2 with one regular season non-conference game remaining. Emmanuel will host the Falcons of Fitchburg State College on Tuesday night (10/23) at 6:00 pm at the Winsor School. Emmanuel's two seniors, Erin Kelly and Caitlin Egan, will be honored prior to the start of this game.

The Men's Soccer Team won their second-straight conference game on Saturday, defeating the visiting Falcons of Albertus Magnus College, 1-0. The seven seniors on the Emmanuel squad were honored prior to the start of the game. Both teams played the entire first half scoreless. It was senior midfielder Mark DaCruz (Taunton, MA) who netted the game-winner at the 73-minute mark. DaCruz nailed a header off a pass from freshman forward Gavin Molta (Southwick, MA) to give the Saints the 1-0 victory. Junior goalkeeper Jeffrey Boughton (Chandler, AZ) made 4 saves in his 90 minutes in net. With this win, the Saints improved to 5-9 overall and 3-7 in conference play. Emmanuel will host the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University on Wednesday night (10/24) at 8:00 pm at East Boston Stadium.

The Women's Tennis Team split games this weekend, falling to Johnson & Wales University on Saturday and defeating Albertus Magnus College on Sunday. The Saints were defeated by the host Wildcats, 7-2, but bounced back to shutout the visiting Falcons, 9-0, on Sunday. In Sunday's match, senior Anna Marie Podnecky (Bridgewater Corners, VT) recorded a 6-1, 6-0 win at 1st singles. Junior Rachel Strauss (Westwood, MA) picked up the win at 2nd singles. Freshman Catherine Dunphy (Duxbury, MA) got the straight-set win at 3rd singles. Senior Megan Barrows (West Springfield, MA) notched a 6-1, 6-4 win at 4th singles, while sophomore Nory Hayes (Newport, RI) and freshman Taylor Kelly (Poughkeepsie, NY) both shut out their opponents, 6-0 and 6-0, at 5th and 6th singles, respectively. Hayes teamed up with senior captain Jamie Kenyon (Ware, MA) for an 8-2 in doubles. Barrows joined partner Caitrin Dunn (Toms Rivier, NJ) for an 8-2 win at 2nd doubles. Freshmen Brianna Murphy (Wilbraham, MA) and Ali Shakra (Bedford, NH) recorded an 8-1 win at 3rd doubles. The Saints improved to 8-5 overall and 3-4 in the GNAC. The team earned the 5th seed in the GNAC post-season tournament. The Saints will travel to 4th-seeded Emerson College to take on the Lions in the tournament quarterfinal match on Wednesday (10/24).

The Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams will travel to Saint Joseph's College in Standish, ME on Saturday (10/27) to compete in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship Meet. The women's meet will begin at 1:30 pm and the men's meet will begin at 2:30 pm.



Emmanuel Hosts 3rd Annual Saints Invitational

October 15, 2007 - On Friday night, the Emmanuel Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams hosted the 3rd Annual Saints Invitational at Franklin Park. Fifteen women's teams competed in the 5K race and ten men's teams competed in the 8K race. Junior Christine Gaspar (Attleboro, MA) led the Emmanuel women to a 5th place finish, placing 4th out of the 87 female competitors with a time of 20:00. Senior Emily McCaffrey (East Greenwich, RI) finished 2nd for the Saints and 9th overall with a time of 20:53. Junior Anna Merrow (Kennebunkport, ME) ran 3rd for the Saints with a time of 23:48. Senior Keelyn Blanchfield (East Thetford, VT) and freshman Dana Griffin (Walpole, MA) were the 4th and 5th point scorers for Emmanuel with times of 23:51 and 24:22, respectively. The Emmanuel men were led by senior T.J. Griffis (Green Harbor, MA), who finished 16th out of the 75 runners with a time of 29:23. Senior Matt Hickey (North Attleboro, MA) was Emmanuel's 2nd runner and the 25th overall with a time of 30:34. Freshman Ben Cleveland (Auburn, ME) placed 3rd for the Saints with a time of 32:00. Sophomores Tim Flaherty (Mattapoisett, MA) and Joey Rugo (Grafton, MA) rounded out the top five for Emmanuel. The Saints will take this weekend off to rest up in preparation for the GNAC Championship meet on October 27th at Saint Joseph's College in Standish, ME.

The Women's Volleyball Team split in a GNAC tri-match in West Hartford, CT on Saturday. The Saints defeated host Saint Joseph College in straight sets, but fell to Lasell College in a 5-game match. Junior outside hitter Lindsey Parker (New Bedford, MA) led Emmanuel with 19 kills and 9 digs in the win over the Blue Jays. Parker also posted 18 kills and 8 digs in the loss to the Lasers. Freshman outside hitter Megan Murray (Killingworth, CT) added a combined 18 kills and 9 digs in the matches, while junior libero Amanda Machado (Swansea, MA) tallied a team high 30 digs. Senior setter Jen Walsh (West Springfield, MA) dished out 38 assists, while sophomore setter Diana Grimaldi (Sandy Hook, CT) added 30 helpers in the two matches. The Saints will host the Lions of Emerson College on Tuesday (10/16) at 7:00 pm. The three seniors on the team will be honored prior to the start of this match.

The Women's Soccer Team won their 10th-straight game on Saturday, defeating Mount Ida College, 5-1, at the Winsor School. The Mustangs jumped out to an early lead, scoring their lone goal of the game at the 5-minute mark. Emmanuel tied the game just 13 minutes later on an unassisted goal by rookie forward Amber Di Nucci (Assonet, MA). Freshman midfielder Kellie Scalora (Berlin, CT) came off the bench to net the Saints' 2nd goal and to give Emmanuel a 2-1 lead into halftime. It was all Emmanuel in the 2nd half, with the Saints' 3rd and 4th goals coming by way of sophomore forward Stephanie Levesque (Auburn, MA). Scalora assisted Levesque's first goal and Di Nucci dished out the assist on the second, picking up her 27th point of the season. Sophomore midfielder Kate McKenna (Holyoke, MA) capped off the Saints' scoring in the 80th minute with her 7th goal of the season and Emmanuel's 5th of the game. The Saints improved to 12-2-1 on the season, tying their program record for wins in a season, which was set by the GNAC Championship Team back in 2003. Emmanuel remains undefeated in GNAC play with a record of 11-0. The Saints will host the Gators of Pine Manor College on Wednesday night (10/17) at 6:30 pm.

The Women's Tennis Team picked up their sixth win of the season with a 7-2 victory over Saint Joseph College on Saturday. The Saints earned 5 wins at singles led by senior Anna Marie Podnecky's (Bridgewater Corners, VT) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory. Sophomore Caitlin Kustes (Corfu, NY) and senior Cat Robinson (East Providence, RI) won in straight sets at 3rd and 4th singles, while freshman Catherine Dunphy (Duxbiry, MA) and senior Katie Silva (Lakeville, MA) won in straight sets at 5th and 6th singles, respectively. Emmanuel also posted two doubles victories on the day. Sophomore Nory Hayes (Newport, RI) and senior Jamie Kenyon (Ware, MA) teamed up for an 8-2 win at first doubles, while freshmen Taylor Kelly (Poughkeepsie, NY) and Alexandra Shakra (Bedford, NH) notched the win at third doubles. The 6-4 Saints will play again on Thursday (10/18) at 6:30 pm against the visiting Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology. The five seniors on the team will be honored prior to the start of this match.



Another O.T. Win for the Saints

October 8, 2007 - The Women's Soccer Team captured its 8th consecutive win on Saturday with an overtime victory against the visiting Monks from Saint Joseph's College. Both teams entered the contest with undefeated records against Great Northeast Athletic Conference opponents. Saint Joseph was also unbeaten vs. non-conference opponents and held an overall record of 11-0 on the season.

The Saints edged the Monks, 4-3, in Emmanuel's 4th overtime game of the season. This was also the Saints' 3rd OT win in their last four contests. Emmanuel jumped out to an early lead, scoring just 5 minutes into the game on a breakaway by freshman forward Amber Di Nucci (Assonet, MA), who fed sophomore forward Tiffany Dahlstrom (Essex, CT) for the first goal of the game. The Monks returned fire, tying the game at 1-1 in the 20th minute. The teams entered halftime tied at 1. It was not until the 78th minute when Saint Joseph scored to take the lead, 2-1. Momentum shifted to the Monks and the outcome looked bleak for Emmanuel. The Saints turned things up in the final five minutes of play and senior forward Erin Kelly (Springfield, MA) completed a big-time play to tie the game at 2-2. Di Nucci and sophomore forward Stephanie Levesque (Auburn, MA) assisted Kelly on the goal. The Saints continued to dominate play in overtime, out-shooting the Monks, 6-0, in the 5:12 of extra play. Rookie Amber Di Nucci tallied her 4th point of the contest, when she netted the game-winner at 95:12. Di Nucci, who now has 8 goals on the season, was assisted by Dahlstrom for the final play of the game. Emmanuel's junior keeper Laureyn Furtney (Barrington, NH) made 2 saves in goal for the Saints and recorded her 9th victory of the season.

With this win, Emmanuel improves to 10-2-1 overall and remains unbeaten in the GNAC at 9-0. The Saints also set a program record on Saturday with their 9th conference win so far this season. Prior to this year, Emmanuel's best conference record featured 8 GNAC wins. Congratulations to Kate McKenna for being named the GNAC Women's Soccer Player of the Week for the second time this season and to Amber Di Nucci for being named the GNAC Women's Soccer Rookie of the Week for the second-straight week. The Saints will be back in action on Wednesday (10/10), when they travel to Nashua, NH to face the Eagles of Daniel Webster College in a 4:00 pm start.

The Women's Volleyball Team competed in the Mid-Coast Volleyball Invitational over the weekend. Friday night's matches were held at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME and Saturday's matches were played at Bates College in Lewiston, ME. Emmanuel was defeated by Wheaton College and Brandeis University in the opening rounds of the tournament. The Saints fell to University of New England on Saturday, but recovered to defeat Keuka College in 5 games on Saturday afternoon. Emmanuel's attack was led by junior outside hitter Lindsey Parker (New Bedford, MA), who smacked down 21 kills, gathered 18 digs, and served up 7 aces. Freshman Megan Clary (Cumberland, RI) and junior libero Amanda Machado (Swansea, MA) each tallied 18 digs in the win. Sophomore Diana Grimaldi (Sandy Hook, CT) notched 7 kills and 16 assists and senior setter Jen Walsh (West Springfield, MA) stepped up, dishing out 25 assists in the match. The Saints picked up their 2nd-straight win on Monday night, defeating COF rival, Wentworth Institute of Technology, in 4 sets. The Saints took care of the Leopards, 30-22, 30-25, 19-30, and 30-15. Parker once again led the way with 20 kills in the match. Emmanuel will play again on Wednesday (10/10) at Mount Ida College at 6:00 pm.

The Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams competed in the Saint Joseph's College Monks Invitational on Saturday. Junior Christine Gaspar (Attleboro, MA) had another huge day for the Saints, leading the way with a 2nd place finish out of 52 runners. Gaspar ran the 5K course in 21:03 and finished as the 1st GNAC runner in the meet. She was subsequently named the GNAC Women's Cross Country Performer of the Week, an honor she is receiving for the second time this season. Senior Emily McCaffrey (East Greenwich, RI) ran 2nd for the Saints and finished 5th overall with a time of 21:39. Junior Cat Lariviere (Windham, NH) placed 12th overall and 3rd for Emmanuel with a time of 22:58. Junior Anna Merrow (Kennebunkport, ME) and freshman Dana Griffin (Walpole, MA) rounded out the top five for Emmanuel. As a team, the Saints finished 2nd overall, falling short of UMaine Farmington by just 5 points. The Emmanuel men were led by senior T.J. Griffis (Green Harbor, MA), who ran the 8K course in 31:06 and finished 11th overall. Senior Matt Hickey (North Attleboro, MA) placed 2nd for the Saints with a time of 34:39. Sophomore Tim Flaherty (Mattapoisett, MA) ran a 35:39 race and finished 3rd for the Saints. Freshmen Ben Cleveland (Auburn, ME) and Alex Politsch (Catonsville, MD) finished as the 4th and 5th point scorers for Emmanuel. Emmanuel will host the 3rd Annual Saints Invitational this Friday (10/12) at Franklin Park. The women's meet begins at 4:00 pm and the men's meet begins at 4:45 pm.

The Women's Tennis Team picked up a 9-0 non-conference win over Newbury College on Friday night. All of Emmanuel's singles wins came in straight sets. Senior Anna Marie Podnecky (Bridgewater Corners, VT) won at #1 singles, 6-1 and 6-1. Junior Rachel Strauss (Westwood, MA) won at 2nd singles, 6-0 and 6-0. Sophomore Caitlin Kustes (Corfu, NY) won at 3rd singles, 6-0 and 6-2. Freshman Catherine Dunphy (Duxbury, MA) was the 4th singles winner, 6-3 and 6-1. Senior Megan Barrows (West Springfield, MA) won at #5 singles, 6-0 and 6-1. Senior Katie Silva (Lakeville, MA) picked up a default victory at 6th singles. In doubles action, Barrows and Caitrin Dunn (Toms River, NJ) notched an 8-4 win, while senior Jamie Kenyon (Ware, MA) and freshman Taylor Kelly (Poughkeepsie, NY) shut out their opponents, 8-0. Silva and Dunphy recorded a default win at 3rd doubles. The Saints improved to 5-4 on the season and remain 1-3 in the GNAC. Monday's match with Albertus Magnus College was postponed due to the weather. Emmanuel will be back in action on Thursday (10/11) when the Saints travel to Rhode Island College for a 4:00 pm start.

The Men's Soccer Team fell to conference foe Rivier College on Saturday, 4-1, in Nashua, NH. Senior forward Chris Clark (Cohasset, MA) scored Emmanuel's lone goal for the game. This was Clark's 5th goal of the season. Junior keeper Jeffrey Boughton (Chandler, AZ) played the 90 minutes in net for the Saints. Emmanuel will be back in action on Tuesday (10/9), when the Saints travel to Lasell College to take on the Lasers in a 3:30 pm start.



Women's Soccer Team Wins 7th-Straight; Saints Stop Cadets in Overtime

October 4, 2007 - The Emmanuel Women's Soccer Team defeated Norwich University, 4-3, in overtime on Wednesday night to continue the Saints' unbeaten streak in conference play and record a 7th straight overall victory. Both teams entered the contest with zero losses in GNAC competition. Emmanuel jumped out to an early lead on an unassisted goal by sophomore forward Tiffany Dahlstrom (Essex, CT) at 19:23. Sophomore midfielder Kate McKenna (Holyoke, MA) netted one just 4 minutes later to give Emmanuel a 2-0 advantage. Norwich scored just before the break and Emmanuel entered halftime with a 2-1 lead. The Cadets scored again just 6 minutes into the 2nd half and tied the game at 2-2. Norwich's Nikki Szczepanski then scored her 2nd goal of the night to give the Cadets a 3-2 lead with just 15 minutes to play. Emmanuel rookie Amber Di Nucci (Assonet, MA) tallied her 7th goal of the season, when she was assisted by McKenna at 76:56. Both teams played out the remainder of regulation knotted at 3-3. Emmanuel out-shot Norwich, 9-1 in overtime, before sophomore forward Stephanie Levesque (Auburn, MA) hit the game-winner at 97:24. Dahlstrom assisted on the game-winning goal, picking up her 3rd point of the night. Emmanuel keeper Laureyn Furtney (Barrington, NH) made 3 saves in her 97 minutes in net. With this win, the Saints improved to 9-2-1 overall and 8-0 in the GNAC. Emmanuel will host the Monks of Saint Joseph's College (ME) on Saturday (10/6) at the Winsor School Field at 3:00 pm.

The Men's Soccer Team fell to Suffolk University on Tuesday night, 2-1, in overtime. Suffolk took an early lead at the 12-minute mark, but Emmanuel tied it up just seconds before halftime. Senior forward Chris Clark (Cohasset, MA) sent a free kick into the box, which was tipped by Andrew Clark (Cohasset, MA) before senior defenseman Mark Iannucci (Kingston, MA) knocked it in. The teams went into halftime tied at 1-1. Both teams played the entire second half scoreless. The Saints out-shot the Rams, 12-8, throughout the game, but it was Suffolk that notched the game-winner after 5:30 of overtime play. Freshman goalkeeper Carlos Perez (Boca Raton, FL) played the full game in net for the Saints, making 6 saves in the contest. With this loss, Emmanuel fell to 3-7 on the season and 1-4 in the GNAC. The Saints will travel to Nashua, NH on Saturday (10/6) to square off against the Raiders of Rivier College. The game is scheduled to kick off at 12:00 pm.

The Women's Volleyball Team was defeated by Rivier College on Wednesday night, 3-1. The Saints were edged in the first set, 30-24, but came back to take the next game, 30-26. It was all Rivier in the third and fourth games, as the Raiders prevailed, 30-22 and 30-15. Emmanuel was led by junior outside hitter Lindsey Parker (New Bedford, MA), who notched 13 kills and 12 digs. Freshman Megan Clary (Cumberland, RI) tallied 6 kills 12 digs in the effort. Junior libero Amanda Machado (Swansea, MA) recorded a team-high 17 digs, while senior Meagan McGivern (Merrimack, NH) totaled 5 kills and 3 blocks in the match. Freshman setter Heather Muller (Nashua, NH) dished out 16 assists in the effort. The Saints will play in Maine this weekend at Bowdoin College and Bates College in an invitational tournament.



Saints Tame Wildcats

October 2, 2007 - The Emmanuel Women's Soccer Team cruised to its 6th-straight win on Saturday, shutting out the visiting opponents from Johnson & Wales University, 3-0. The Saints out-shot the Wildcats by an incredible margin of 42-1. Both teams played the entire first half scoreless. All three Emmanuel goals came in the 2nd stanza, beginning with a freshman forward Amber Di Nucci's (Assonet, MA) goal from outside the box at 71:18. Di Nucci was assisted by sophomore midfielder Kate McKenna (Holyoke, MA). McKenna then netted Emmanuel's 2nd goal at 88:41 when she completed a penalty kick situation, after Di Nucci was tripped up in the box. The Saints capped things off in the 90th minute when sophomore midfielder Meghan Long (Smithfield, RI) chipped one in at 89:34. With this win, Emmanuel improved to 8-2-1 overall and the Saints remain undefeated at 7-0 in the GNAC. Emmanuel will host the Cadets of Norwich University on Wednesday (10/3) at 6:30 pm. Amber Di Nucci, who scored 10 total points (4 goals and 2 assists) in Emmanuel's three games last week, was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference's Rookie of the Week.

The Women's Tennis Team was edged by Emerson College on Saturday, 5-4, and Colby-Sawyer College on Sunday, 6-3. The Saints lost 4 of their 6 singles matches on Saturday vs. Emerson. Emmanuel's two singles wins featured senior Cat Robinson (East Providence, RI) at 4th singles, who fell in the first set, 6-7, but came back to win the next two, 6-2 and 6-1. The Saints also picked up a singles win in the 6th slot from senior Katie Silva (Lakeville, MA), who defeated her opponent in straight sets, 6-2 and 6-4. Emmanuel's 3rd and 4th points of the match came from doubles wins by Nory Hayes (Newport, RI) and Jamie Kenyon (Ware, MA) at 2nd doubles and Megan Barrows (West Springfield, MA) and Caitrin Dunn (Toms River, NJ) at 3rd doubles. On Sunday, Emmanuel notched wins in singles play by freshman Catherine Dunphy (Duxbury, MA) at #5 and by Silva again playing at #6. The Saints' 3rd point against Colby-Sawyer came by way of a 2nd doubles win by Kenyon and Dunphy. The Saints are now 4-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play. Emmanuel will host the defending GNAC Champion Sharks of Simmons College on Tuesday at (10/2) 4:00 pm.

The Men's Soccer Team was shut out at Norwich University on Saturday, 4-0. The Cadets have now won 8-straight matches and have recorded shut-outs in 4 of their last 5 contests. Norwich out-shot Emmanuel 21-9 over the duration of the game. The Saints notched just 3 shots on goal in the 90 minutes of play. Freshman goalkeeper Carlos Perez (Boca Raton, FL) made 9 saves in the effort. The Saints dropped to 3-6 overall and 1-3 in the GNAC. Emmanuel will host the Rams of Suffolk University on Tuesday night (10/2) at 8:00 pm. This game will be played at Boston English High School.

The Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams competed in the Pop Crowell Invitational Meet at Gordon College on Saturday. The women's team finished 11th out of 22 teams. Junior Christine Gaspar (Attleboro, MA) led the way, finishing 14th overall and setting a new personal record with her time of 19:45 in the 5K race. Second for the Saints was senior Emily McCaffrey (East Greenwich, RI), who also set a new PR and finished 27th out of the 229 competitors with her 20:37 time. McCaffrey was subsequently named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference's Performer of the Week. Junior Cat Lariviere (Windham, NH) ran a 22:28 race and finished 3rd for Emmanuel. Senior Keelyn Blanchfield (East Thetford, VT) placed 4th for the Saints with a new PR time of 23:00. Freshman Dana Griffin (Walpole, MA) was Emmanuel's 5th and final point scorer with a time of 23:17. In the men's race, Emmanuel was paced by senior Matt Hickey (North Attleboro, MA), who ran a 32:55 5-miler. Sophomore Tim Flaherty (Mattapoisett, MA) placed 2nd for the Saints with a time of 33:36. Freshman Ben Cleveland (Auburn, ME), senior TJ Griffis (Green Harbor, MA) and sophomore Joey Rugo (Grafton, MA) rounded out the top five for the Saints. Both the men's and women's teams will compete again on Saturday (10/6) in Standish, ME at the Saint Joseph's College Monks Invitational.

The Women's Volleyball Team fell to the Rams of Framingham State College on Monday night in 4 sets. The Saints are now 2-13 on the season and 1-1 in GNAC play. Emmanuel will host the Raiders of Rivier College on Wednesday night (10/3) at 7:00 pm.