COLCHESTER, Vt. – Junior Gianna Caprioli (Clinton Corners, N.Y./Franklin Delano Roosevelt) led New Haven with five points on four goals and an assist as she Chargers closed out the regular season with a 16-3 win over Saint Michael's College. With the win, New Haven stands at 11-5 and 8-3 in the NE10 following the regular season and secures the No. 3 seed in the upcoming NE10 Championship which will begin this coming weekend.
The five points for Caprioli is the second time this season she has finished with five points, while her four goals matches a season-high she has set twice prior to Wednesday afternoon. Against the Purple Knights, she was one of two players to finish with four goals, joined by senior Ivanna Hernandez (Bay Shore, N.Y./Brentwood), who saw her four goals come on seven total shots, one of which coming on a free position attempt.
Overall, the Chargers 16 goals came from eight different players with two addition adding multiple goals as Lindsey Belmonte (Yaphank, N.Y./Bellport) and Kyra Sparks (Jefferson, N.J./Jefferson Township) each finished with a pair. Rounding out the scoring on the day was Caitlyn Seleny, Summer Castiglione (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial), Lucy Shafer (Haymarket, Va./Battfield) and Helena Dunwoody (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich) who each contributed one to the total.
In addition to the assist from Caprioli, two other players registered an assist with Shauna Curran (Bolton, Mass./Nashoba Regional) and Seleny each adding a helper as Seleny added that to her goal for two points total.
As a team, the Chargers won the draw control battle with a convincing 16-5 advantage, led by Cypress Levitt (Calais, Vt./Montpelier) who hauled in seven of the 16. Following her was Castiglione with six. Caprioli added a team-high seven ground balls, while Dunwoody also secured three. The Chargers also finished with nine caused turnovers, led by Caprioli with a pair.
In the cage, New Haven relied on its started Gabby Buscemi (East Patchogue, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) for the majority of the game as she played all but four minutes, finishing with seven saves. Caroline D'Angelo (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) relieved her late in the game, adding one save to the eight total for the game.
As the third seed in the upcoming conference championship, the Chargers will host a first-round home game as they will welcome the Saint Anselm Hawks to Kathy Zolad Stadium on Saturday, May 4. Opening draw in the postseason battle is set for 1:00 p.m. with the winner advancing to take on the winner of second seed Adelphi versus seventh seed Southern New Hampshire.
