STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's College (9-2, 4-2 NAC) shut down Thomas College (5-6, 2-3 NAC), 2-0, in a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) field hockey match at Mercy Field on Saturday afternoon. Junior forward Effie Drew (Portland, Maine) played a hand in both SJC markers with a goal and an assist in the victory.
Entering today's action having lost consecutive conference contests, the Monks looked to set the tone early against the Terriers and executed the plan perfectly with a pair of tallies in a span of just over four minutes.
Sophomore Allyson Allard (Parsonsfield, Maine), making her first collegiate start, put the hosts on top when she slammed a shot into the back of the cage at the 8:24 mark of the first half. Drew set up the play with a right-to-left cross near the goalmouth and was credited with an assist on the score.
Taking advantage of a Thomas turnover near midfield, Drew went on to tally a goal of her own off a nice feed from Kelsey Dumond (Lewiston, Maine) just 4:27 later. After collecting a loose ball down the right side, Dumond dangled through several defenders and pushed crossing pass over to Drew, who lifted the sphere into the upper right corner of the cage to make it a 2-0 game.
Owning a 15-3 advantage in shots and a 7-4 edge in penalty corners, Saint Joseph's had plenty of opportunities to pad the lead but could not execute, as Thomas keeper Abbie Charrier (Waldo, Maine) proved up to the task, making five saves to help her team remain within striking distance.
Monks freshman netminder went untested in the victory, as all three of the Terriers' shot attempts were off target.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 16-9 in the history of the series with Thomas College. The Monks have now defeated the Terriers in eight consecutive meetings dating back to the 2007 season and blanked their in-state rival by the same score last fall.
For the Monks, the two-game conference-losing streak was just the second in six seasons as a member of the NAC. St. Joe's lost to Castleton State (3-0) and Lasell College (2-1) last week and suffered setbacks at the hands of Maine-Farmington and Castleton over a nine-day span last season.
The Terriers, who lost to Husson by a 5-0 margin last Saturday, have now been shut out in back to back conference contests and have yet to score during the month of October. Four of the six Thomas losses have been of the shutout variety this fall.
Saint Joseph's returns to action on Tuesday when the Royal Blue play host to NAC-rival Husson University at 3:30 PM. Thomas also faces a conference foe on Tuesday when the Terriers travel to play at Maine-Farmington at 3:30 PM.
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
