GNAC Semifinals Tonight: Colby-Sawyer’s Perfect League Run Meets a Saint Joseph’s Side With History
The GNAC semifinals are a late-night treat for anyone still up after the bigger conferences finish. Both games are on Wednesday evening in the US, which means the small hours of Thursday in Pakistan, but they’re worth staying up for.
Top-seeded Colby-Sawyer, 16-2 overall and a perfect 9-0 in GNAC play, host fourth-seeded Saint Joseph’s at 5 p.m. ET at Sally Shaw Veitch Track and Field in New London, New Hampshire. Colby-Sawyer edged this same Saint Joseph’s side 1-0 on 14 October, so the Monks know exactly how tight this fixture is. Saint Joseph’s, 10-9 and 6-3 in the league, got here by beating New England College 1-0 in double overtime in the first round, and they carry real tournament pedigree: four straight GNAC championships from 2016 through 2019, and now a third straight semifinal appearance.
The other semifinal, at 6 p.m. ET, pairs sixth-seeded Simmons with seventh-seeded Dean. Both have already beaten the odds just by getting here, and the winner gets a Saturday final against either the favourites or the most decorated programme in the league’s recent history. That final is on Saturday 7 November, with the time and host still to be confirmed once Wednesday’s winners are known.
For our money, Colby-Sawyer should win this. A 9-0 league record doesn’t happen by accident. But Saint Joseph’s have won this tournament before, they survived double overtime to get here, and teams with that kind of memory don’t go quietly.
