RICHMOND, Va. – Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse cruised to a dominant 17-7 victory led by efforts from Alexa Capozzoli and Sarah Groark, knocking out sixth-seeded VCU on Friday to advance to the Atlantic 10 Championship.
 
St. Joe's earned its sixth-consecutive win on the season to move to 11-7. VCU ends its season with an 8-11 record.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Alexa Capozzoli found a cutting Kate Fuhrman for her 51^st assist of the season, Fuhrman's strike getting the Hawks on the board within the opening five minutes.
• Capozzoli was the facilitator once more just a minute later, helping the Hawks take advantage of an extra-woman advantage as Sarah Groark finished the feed near the crease to put the Hawks up 2-0.
• A stellar defensive possession caused a VCU turnover, Bella Schorr racing to midfield to pick up the ground ball before a quick dish to Maddie Yoder. The senior raced the length of the field, passing a defender and dispatching into the back of the net to record her first goal of the game.
• The Rams opened their account with over six minutes to play in the opening frame, but a quick counter from Riley Miller pushed the Hawk advantage back to three just 30 seconds later.
• Groark doubled up her tally with under two minutes to play, Capozzoli tallying her third assist of the day to give the Hawks a 5-1 lead after 15 minutes.
• Capozzoli turned scorer to start the second frame, tallying the opening goal of the quarter to add to her day.
• VCU drew the game within three after back-to-back goals before Ellie Webb's free-position goal ended the quick spurt from the Rams. Yoder added her second of the day after escaping a double team to place her effort into the top left corner for an 8-3 lead.
• Elizabeth McGurk raced to get a shot off before the end of the half as the sophomore was fouled in the process. With 1.6 seconds remaining, McGurk unleashed low from a free-position attempt, bouncing under the goalkeeper's stick and crashing into the netting to give the Hawks a 9-4 lead entering the halftime break.
• Capozzoli opened the second half as she did the first, assisting an early goal from Groark to build the largest lead of the game at 10-4.
• The Rams looked to climb back in the game, scoring three of the next four goals to end the third quarter as Groark's fourth goal and second of the quarter helped the Hawks to an 11-7 lead with 15 minutes remaining.
• Groark opened the final frame with her fifth goal of the game to help spark a 6-0 run as the Hawks sprinted to the finish line.
• Capozzoli and Webb each added their second goals of the day to enter the final media timeout with a 14-7 lead.
• Emma Yoder wiggled past a defender, rippled the netting with a finish while taking late contact to force a yellow card for VCU.
• The Hawks capitalized on the woman-up advantage on the ensuing possession after Fuhrman registered her second goal of the day.
• As she did in the first half, McGurk closed out the game with a goal in transition to increase the Hawk advantage to 17-7. The running clock was enforced with the 10-goal lead as the final minute ticked away to send St. Joe's to the Atlantic 10 Championship on Sunday afternoon.

 
 
GAME NOTES

• Sarah Groark led the Hawks with five goals on the game, one goal shy of matching the record for most goals in a single game in A-10 Championship history. Groark has netted 95 goals, moving into 14^th in program history with her performance on Friday.
• Atlantic 10 Second Teamer Alexa Capozzoli provided eight points, adding two goals and six assists to her dominant display. The junior has now registered 56 assists on the season, entering the tournament ranked ninth in the country in assists. Capozzoli also eclipsed 100 assists in her career, becoming just the second Hawk to reach that mark as the Ridley Park, Pa. native moves within eight assists of tying the program record (110) set by Stephanie Kelly. Capozzoli also became the fourth Hawk to score 80+ points in a single season, nine points behind the program record of 91 set by Kelly in 2021.
• Maddie Yoder scored twice in the win, moving to 55 goals on the season and 161 for her career. Yoder is two shy of tying Jenna Martino for second in single-season goals, while the senior sits 10 goals shy of Shannon Feite's program record of 171 goals. Yoder added a season-high eight draw controls in the win.
• Ellie Webb and Kate Fuhrman each finished with two goals and an assist in the win while Elizabeth McGurk also nabbed a pair of goals.
• Riley Miller and Emma Yoder rounded out the scoring for the Hawks, each scoring once in the win.
• Bella Miceli recorded four draw controls in the win, entering the title game three shy of recording 100 on the season and to move into third all-time in program history. The senior would also become just the second Hawk to reach 100 draws in a single season.
• Jorden Concordia recorded 11 saves on a .611 save percentage after being named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team on Thursday morning, helping the Hawks hold an Atlantic 10 foe to 10 goals or fewer for the 10^th time this season.
• The Hawks are 3-0 all-time against the Rams in the postseason and 10-1 all-time. St. Joe's won both matchups this season by a combined 20 goals.
• St. Joe's will advance to its first Atlantic 10 Championship game since 2022, upsetting top-seeded Massachusetts to earn the first NCAA Tournament berth in program history.

 
 
UP NEXT
The Hawks match up against top-seeded UMass in Sunday's championship game in Robins Stadium. First draw is slated for 12 p.m.