BRIDGEWATER, MA - St. Joe's was unable to muster
any offensive production against second seeded Bridgewater State
and the Bears capitalized on a goal by SR Katie Balboni in the 57th
minute to earn the victory and the ECAC D3 Field Hockey
Championship.
Both teams missed several opportunities to score in the first half
which ended tied at 0-0. Seven minutes into the first period, St.
Joseph's had a chance to score the go-ahead goal on a penalty
stroke. Freshman defender Alyssa Dunn (Standish,
ME) hit a rocket that Bears SR goalkeeper Nicole Downs blocked with
her left pad.
Downs was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player as she
posted her second shutout in as many days while tallying 12 saves
in the tournament overall. Downs did not allow a goal in 161
minutes and 42 seconds of play during the tournament. The senior
registered four saves versus St. Joe's.
St Joseph's best opportunity to score in the second half came in
the closing seconds of the game when junior forward Gina
Gaetani (Auburn, ME) made an attempt at a cross in front
of the goal mouth, but it was cleared out of harms way by senior
defenseman Laura Chiuppi.
St Joseph's freshman goalkeeper "Kat" Simoes
(Wakefield, MA) finished the contest with four stops on the
afternoon and sophomore defenseman Kimberly Glynn
(Danvers, MA) chipped in with a defensive save in the first
half.
It's been quite a week for the St. Joe's Field Hockey program. On
Monday morning, the team's excitement couldn't be contained after
they were informed of the ECAC bid. In the semifinal game on
Wednesday, the #5 Monks defeated #4 Wheaton College, 2-1 in the
sudden-victory penalty shot round, only to be told on Thursday that
the officials made an error in the number of shootout rounds and
the game was deemed incomplete.
On Friday the ladies traveled to Henniker, NH to finish the
suspended game at the designated halfway point between the Wheaton
and Saint Joseph's College campuses. The Monks prevailed in a
hyphenated shootout round, 3-2, to advance to a semifinal game at
home vs. #8 Plymouth State College on Saturday, 11/10.
St. Joe's defeated the Panthers, 1-0, behind a stingy defense and
stellar play by goalkeeper "Kat" Simoes to earn
the opportunity to play in the championship game.
Bridgewater State College finished with an 11-9 advantage in shots
while the Monks held a 6-5 edge in penalty corners.
The Bears finish the season with a record of 16-6, the most wins in
program history, and capture their first ever ECAC Championship.
The Monks end the 2007 campaign with a 14-7 record, also the best
finish in program history.
Courtesy of Bridgewater State College Sports Information
