STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's (11-5, 8-1 NAC) slipped past Plymouth State (14-2, 9-1 LEC), 2-1, in a non-conference field hockey match at Lakeside Field on Wednesday afternoon. Senior forward Sarah Bartell (Exeter, N.H.) tallied a goal and an assist in the victory.
The Monks kicked off the scoring in the 12th minute when TJ Cowin '14 (Newry, Maine) scored her team-leading 14th goal of the season off a penalty corner. Renee Leach '12 (Springvale, Maine) took the corner and, after a quick scramble in the circle, Bartell scooped up the ball and found a wide-open Cowin, who rifled a shot to the middle of the cage from about five yards out.
The Panthers responded with perhaps their best scoring opportunity of the game 13 minutes later when Nikki Garvey '15 (Canaan, N.H.) steered a pair of shots on net. The first bid was stopped by Meaghan Johnson (Portland, Maine/Cheverus), who left the goalmouth to make the save, but Garvey scooped up the rebound and steered a shot to the heart of the cage. Thankfully for the hosts, junior defender Brittany Locke (Waterville, Maine) was in position to make a defensive save.
The near-goal by Plymouth did not faze Saint Joseph's as the hosts went on to double the lead just over a minute later when Bartell scored at the 25:36 mark. Freshman Peyton Dostie (Standish, Maine) created the chance with a slick right-to-left cross pass from the right corner and her senior teammate finished with a shot to the lower left corner of the cage. Bartell nearly fanned on the shot, but the offspeed attempt seemed to fool Panthers keeper Hilary Lemelin '13 (Milan, N.H.) as the ball slowly trickled past the goal line.
Both teams recorded three shots and the Monks held a 2-0 edge in penalty corners in the first half, but the Panthers poured on the pressure in the latter stanza by the tune of a 10-2 shots advantage.
As a result, the Monks were on the defensive for the majority of the final 35 minutes and the SJC backline - led by Johnson - showed its mettle to preserve the victory.
Despite the hosts' defensive prowess, Panthers junior forward Olivia Colborn (Lancaster, N.H.) managed to cut her team's deficit in half with a score off a corner with five minutes remaining in the contest. Erin Norris '12 (Hilton, N.Y.) sent the ball in play off the corner and was denied by Johnson on a shot six seconds later. Colborn somehow collected the rebound in traffic and blasted a shot to the left side of the cage to make the closing minutes stressful for the Royal Blue faithful.
Plymouth State recorded only one shot, an attempt by Norris that sailed wide at the 67:10 mark, for the remainder of the contest. The Panthers were awarded a penalty corner bid with 42 seconds remaining, but no shot was attempted on the play.
Plymouth held a 13-5 advantage in shots and both teams earned six penalty corner attempts on the afternoon. Johnson recorded eight saves while Lemelin posted one stop in a losing effort.
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 2-1 in the history of the series with Plymouth State. The other Monks' victory over the Panthers was a 1-0 triumph in the semifinal round of the 2007 ECAC Tournament.
Prior to the game a short ceremony was held in honor of the Monks' six seniors: Bartell, Johnson, Leach, Amanda Sebastiao (Uxbridge, Mass.), Olivia Tourangeau (Old Orchard Beach, Maine/McAuley), and Ashley Walukevich (Kingston, N.H.). This outstanding group has helped Saint Joseph's post a 53-21 (.716) overall record and a 27-2 (.931) mark in NAC play since arriving on campus before the start of the 2008 campaign.
Saint Joseph's, the #2 seed in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Tournament, will host #7 Simmons College (9-9, 4-5 NAC) in the opening round of the tourney at 2:00 PM on Saturday. Plymouth State plays host to Little East Conference rival UMass.-Dartmouth on Saturday at 12:00 PM.
