RICHMOND, Va. – Second-seeded Saint Joseph’s scored six of the first seven goals of the game to soar to a 17-7 victory over No. 6 VCU in the Atlantic 10 Women’s Lacrosse championship semifinals Friday at Robins Stadium.
The Hawks (11-7) advance to their fourth A-10 Championship final game and their first appearance in the title match since 2022. SJU will play top-seeded Massachusetts at noon with the league crown and an NCAA bid on the line.

Sarah Groark had two of those first six goals, which covered the entire first quarter and bled into the second. Groark tallied five total goals to lead all scorers. The early five-goal advantage gave SJU a cushion against a pair of VCU second quarter goals, and the Hawks got the lead back to five at halftime by an Elizabeth McGurk goal that found the net with .1 seconds left.

SJU had 32 total shots in the game, 25 of which were on net and the Hawks dominated the draw controls, winning 17 of 24. Jordan Concordia was a brick wall in net, making 11 saves for Saint Joseph’s with a .611 save percentage. Alexa Capozzoli registered a game-high six assists.

VCU (8-11) chipped away at the lead and pulled within four twice in the third quarter, but could never get the margin back to three, spurred by back-to-back goals by Sam Palmer and a Ashley Karn score. But six straight Hawk goals, all in the fourth quarter including scores by Groark and Capozzoli, ended any hope of a late come back. Saint Joseph’s kept the Rams off the scoreboard for the entire final frame.

Palmer and Mia George each had two goals to lead VCU’s attack, and the VCU goalies combined for eight saves.