PAXTON, MA - Sophomore transfer TJ Cowin (Newry, Maine) netted three goals in her Saint Joseph's debut to help lift the Monks to a 3-1 victory over Anna Maria College on Monday afternoon.
St. Joe's (1-0) has now won five consecutive season-openers while Anna Maria falls to 0-3 on the year with the setback.
Cowin, a transfer from conference-rival Simmons College, picked up her first goal of the year just 5:45 into the game on a nice push shot that went just inside the right corner past AMCAT goaltender M.J. Steinmetz (Grafton, Mass.). Junior defender Melanie Allen (Jackson, N.H.) was credited with the assist on the play.
The Monks scored at the 12:14 mark when Cowin was in position for a rebound off a Sarah Bartell '12 (Exeter, N.H.) shot from the top of the circle.
AMCAT freshman Katherine Bant (Johnstown, N.Y.) scored her first collegiate goal at 21:21 to cut the lead in half heading into the break, but Cowin deflated the host's hopes of a comeback with her third goal, a beautiful drive from the right wing, just 44 seconds into the second stanza.
Monks netminder Meaghan Johnson '12 (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) recorded a pair of saves to earn the win, which was the 40th of her outstanding career. Johnson ranks as the Monks' all-time leader in goalkeeper victories, goals against average (1.33) and shutouts (11) and also ranks second in games (56), minutes (3843) and saves (302).
Steinmetz registered eight saves in the loss to Saint Joseph's, which held advantages in shots (16-5) and penalty corners (9-2) on the afternoon. With the win, St. Joe's improves to 7-2 in the history of the series with Anna Maria. The Monks have topped the AMCATS in five consecutive meetings dating back to the 2006 season.
A Monks player has netted a hat trick 14 times in the history of the program including Cowin's impressive performance against Anna Maria. Kayla Nowell '10 and Courtney Rague '10 - both scored thrice versus Rivier College on October 24th, 2010 - were the last SJC players to accomplish the feat.
Julia Ostrowski '10 - with three markers against Regis College on September 6th, 2008 - was the last Saint Joseph's player to notch a hat trick on opening day.
The Monks return to action Saturday when the Royal Blue plays host to Kean University in a 2:00 PM tilt. Anna Maria will host Elmira at 12:00 PM on Sunday.
