STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's College (10-2, 5-2 NAC) defeated Husson University (8-5, 5-1 NAC), 2-1, in a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) field hockey match at Mercy Field on Tuesday afternoon.
A pair of first-half goals buoyed the Monks to victory and a result that almost certainly will have NAC Tournament implications in the not too-distant future. Senior midfielder Carley Denis (Lewiston, Maine) and freshman midfielder Kelsey Dumond (Lewiston, Maine) both scored goals off penalty corners and the stingy SJC defense managed to hold a potent Husson offensive attack at bay to preserve the 2-0 triumph.
Denis netted her first marker of the year 19:06 into the contest. After serving as the penalty corner injector, Denis positioned herself diagonally off the right post, received a feed from senior Rachelle Messuri (Atkinson, N.H.), and sniped a shot through traffic past Eagles keeper Kaitlin Dolloff (Richmond, R.I.) to make it a 1-0 game.
The Monks doubled their advantage 12:16 later when Dumond potted her sixth goal of the 2013 campaign. Sophomore Meghan Williams (Greenland, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas) served as the penalty corner injector and dealt the ball to Messuri, who slapped a pass to senior midfielder Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) in the heart of the circle. Hendrix turned and belted a shot on net and Dumond, who was stationed near the right post, deflected her attempt into the right side of the cage.
Perhaps looking to spark her team going into the second stanza, Husson Head Coach Jen Johnstone made a goalkeeper change, as sophomore Maicee Gustin (Dexter, Maine) took the place of Dolloff to start the latter frame. The Eagles' second-year netminder made a handful of nice plays, including several where she wisely left her post to challenge an SJC attacker, but the visitors were unable to find the scoreboard and would suffer their first conference setback of the season as a result.
In goal, Saint Joseph's freshman Emma Astbury (Bridgewater, Vt.) made three saves to record her sixth shutout of the season. Dolloff notched a pair of stops in the first half and Gustin made three saves in the second stanza for the Eagles.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 14-17 in the history of the series with Husson University. The multiple-goal winning margin is the first in the matchup since 2008 when the Monks bested the Eagles by a 2-0 tally – each of the last seven games between the in-state rivals, including a 3-2 Husson win last fall, were decided by one goal.
Saint Joseph's resumes play on Thursday when the Monks travel to Salem State University for a 4:00 PM contest versus the Vikings. Husson is off until Sunday when the Eagles host NAC-rival Maine-Farmington at 2:00 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.
