PLYMOUTH, NH – Plymouth State (10-5, 7-3 LEC) slipped past Saint Joseph's College (9-7, 5-4 NAC), 2-1, in a non-conference field hockey contest on Wednesday afternoon. Freshman Meghan Williams (Greenland, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas) netted the Monks' lone goal in the 16th minute.
The 1-0 lead held true until the 55th minute when Panthers junior Lauren Carroll (Rollinsford, N.H.) tapped in the tying goal. Carroll also assisted on the winner, which was scored by junior Jackie Morin (Scarborough, Maine) with five minutes remaining.
The teams combined for just seven shots in the first half, four by the home team. Saint Joseph's scored the only goal of the opening frame in the 16th minute when junior Rachelle Messuri (Atkinson, N.H.) dribbled down the right side and fired a crossing pass into the middle, where Williams collected the ball and pushed it just inside the right post.
Plymouth State finally got on the board midway through the second half. Carroll picked up a loose ball in front of the Monks' cage with her back to the goal, and shot a backhander while she was spinning around that slipped under the goalie. It was Carroll's ninth of the season and tied the game at 1-1 15:29 remaining.
With the score tied and the second-half clock winding down, PSU tallied its second goal on a penalty corner at the 65:04 mark. Carroll took the corner from the left side, shoveled a short pass to Morin about five yards away, and Morin blasted a shot from just inside the circle that snuck through the goalie's pads. It was Morin's second goal of the season and proved to be the game-winner.
PSU finished with an 11-6 advantage in shots, and an 11-9 margin in penalty corners. Junior goalie Hilary Lemelin (Milan, N.H.) made five saves to earn the win in the Panther goal, while sophomore Taylor Allison (Pawtucket, R.I.) stopped seven shots for Saint Joseph's.
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 2-2 in the history of the series with Plymouth State University. The Monks topped the Panthers by the same 2-1 score last fall.
Plymouth State wraps up the regular season Saturday with a Little East Conference matchup at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth; the Corsairs are 10-0 in the LEC and looking to clinch the regular season title. Saint Joseph's opens play in the North Atlantic Conference Tournament Saturday, visiting New England College for a quarterfinal contest that begins at 2:00 PM.
COURTESY OF PLYMOUTH STATE SPORTS INFORMATION
Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.
