BOSTON, MA – Saint Joseph's (3-1, 1-0 NAC) tipped Simmons College (4-2, 0-1 NAC), 3-2, in a North Atlantic Conference field hockey contest on Saturday morning. Junior defender Brittany Locke (Waterville, Maine) netted two goals – the first of her collegiate career - in the SJC victory.
Both of Locke's tallies were scored in the opening stanza as the Monks carried a 2-0 cushion into intermission and Renee Leach '12 (Springvale, Maine) provided an insurance marker in the 56th minute to stake the visitors to a 3-0 advantage.
Sarah Bartell '12 (Exeter, N.H.), who registered a team-high five shots with two on target on the day, assisted on Locke's first goal and Rachelle Messuri '14 (Atkinson, N.H.) was credited with a helper on the second. Both of the junior defender's goals were scored on penalty corner plays.
Melanie Allen '13 (Jackson, N.H.) set up the Monks' third tally with a shot on net that Leach tipped past Simmons netminder Renna Smith '14 (Belfast, Maine).
The Monks' comfortable cushion did not last long, however, as the Sharks fought back with two goals, both netted by senior Katelyn Tighe (Easton, Mass.), in the closing 11 minutes to cut the SJC lead down to one.
Tighe's first score came at the 59:02 mark off a Lee Sutherland '12 (Wolfeboro, N.H.) dish and the second, an unassisted goal, was netted just over four minutes later. Both goals came off reverse stick sweep plays and were scored shortly after a Simmons timeout.
Saint Joseph's managed to control play for the remainder of the contest and escaped with a 3-2 triumph in what was the 2011 NAC opener for both programs.
Meaghan Johnson '12 (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) made nine saves in goal for the Monks while Smith turned away seven shots for the Sharks.
St. Joe's held advantages in shots (22-16) and penalty corners (10-8) in the victory and improves to 10-6 in the history of the series with Simmons College. Saint Joseph's has now defeated Simmons in six consecutive meetings dating back to the 2006 campaign.
The Monks will host in-state rival University of Southern Maine on Thursday at 3:30 PM while Simmons returns to action on Sunday with a home match versus Wheaton College at 1:00 PM.
