STANDISH, ME – Sophomore forward TJ Cowin (Newry, Maine) netted three goals to help Saint joseph's (4-2, 2-0 NAC) defeat New England College (2-6, 1-2 NAC) by a 5-2 margin in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) field hockey action at Lakeside Field on Saturday afternoon.

Cowin, the ECAC New England Offensive Player of the Week on September 14th, is off to a torrid start to her Saint Joseph's career. In four games this fall she has seven goals and three game-winning tallies with two hat-trick efforts. She is just the third player in program history, joining Julia Ostrowski '10 and Kayla Nowell '11, to notch a pair of three-goal games in the same season. Cowin's hat trick in the win over NEC is the 14th in SJC field hockey history.

Pilgrims forward Emily Kuchta (Norwalk, Conn.) scored off a Rachel Carnaroli '13 (Bellingham, Mass.) feed to open the game scoring just 3:49 after the opening whistle, but Cowin took control of the game with three goals in a matter of six minutes and 12 seconds to completely change the complexion of the contest.

Cowin's first marker came off a Sarah Bartell '12 (Exeter, N.H.) pass at the 9:06 mark and the sophomore transfer put the Monks on top to stay just 1:03 later. Peyton Dostie '15 (Standish, Maine) was credited with an assist and the go-ahead marker.

Dostie also set up Cowin's third goal of the day, which was scored at the 15:18 mark of the opening half. Kuchta netted her second marker of the afternoon with 6:25 remaining in the first stanza to make it a 3-2 game heading into the break.

Brittany Locke '13 (Waterville, Maine) added to the Monks' lead with her third goal of the season off a well-executed penalty corner. Renee Leach '12 (Springvale, Maine) and Bartell registered assists to help the hosts gain a 4-2 advantage.

Dostie, the team-leader in assists with four helpers in as many contests, netted her first NCAA goal on a breakaway at the 62:05 mark to cap the game scoring.

SJC netminder Meaghan Johnson '12 (Portland, Maine) made six saves while her counterpart, Pilgrims keeper Mary Roux (Auburn, Mass.) stopped nine shots in a losing effort.

The Monks held a 16-12 advantage in shots while the Pilgrims posted a 9-2 edge in penalty corners on the afternoon.

Saint Joseph's and New England College, a new member of the NAC this fall, had never met in the sport of field hockey prior to this afternoon's contest. Cumulatively across all sports, St. Joe's owns a 30-25 record versus NEC.

Both teams resume play against conference foes tomorrow afternoon when Saint Joseph's hosts Rivier College at 12:00 PM and NEC travels to Husson University for a 2:00 PM start.