STANDISH, ME - Rachelle Messuri '14 (Atkinson, N.H.) provided the only offense with a 37th-minute goal to lift #2 Saint Joseph's College (13-5, 9-1 NAC) past #3 New England College (11-9, 7-3 NAC) in a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Tournament Semifinal matchup at Lakeside Field on Wednesday afternoon.
With the triumph, Saint Joseph's will host Husson University in the conference championship game - for the second consecutive season - on Saturday at 1:00 PM. The fifth-seeded Eagles edged #1 Castleton State College, 1-0, in the other NAC Semifinal played this afternoon to advance to the title match.
The Eagles, winners of the last two conference titles, edged the Monks, 2-1, in the 2010 NAC Championship game at Lakeside Field. For Saint Joseph's, the championship game appearance will be the third in four seasons as a NAC associate member.
Although both teams posted excellent scoring chances in the first half, neither club was able to find the back of the cage as the contest headed into halftime as a scoreless stalemate.
The drought ended at the 36:38 mark when Messuri corralled a rebound after a scrum near the Pilgrims' goalmouth. Without hesitation, the sophomore midfielder lifted the ball into the top right corner past NEC keeper Mary Roux GR (Auburn, Mass.), who had no chance to make the save. The goal was Messuri's third this year and the game-winner was the second of her young collegiate career.
The SJC defense clamped down after the go-ahead goal, as the Pilgrims mustered just three shots for the remainder of the contest despite owning an 8-2 advantage in penalty corners over the final 33 minutes.
New England College registered a pair of corner opportunities in the closing five minutes, but neither chance yielded a shot for the visitors.
Monks goalkeeper Meaghan Johnson '12 (Portland, Maine/Cheverus), the 2011 NAC Defensive Player of the Year, made five stops to record her SJC single-season record sixth shutout of the year. Roux registered seven saves for the Pilgrims in the hard-fought loss.
Saint Joseph's held an 11-8 advantage in shots while New England, a new member of the NAC this fall, recorded a 12-4 lead in penalty corners on the afternoon.
