STANDISH, Maine – Sophomore Emma Rutledge (Alfred, Maine) registered two goals and an assist to help Saint Joseph's College (8-1) defeat Thomas College (3-5), 3-1, in a non-conference field hockey matchup at the SJC Athletics Complex on Friday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Monks seemed to take control early when freshman Alexa Gutowski (Conway, N.H.) scored at the 1:12 mark off Rutledge crossing pass, but the Terriers knotted the game at one-apiece three minutes later.

An SJC defensive lapse resulted in a two-on-one offensive chance for the visitors and Britney Gregoire (Kennebunk, Maine) beat junior goalkeeper Alexandria Simpson (Pascoag, R.I.) – who came out to challenge – with a shot to the lower right corner. Lindsey Gregoire (Kennebunk, Maine) was credited with an assist on the tying tally.

The 1-1 deadlock remained until the closing seconds of the second quarter, when Rutledge collected the rebound off a Libby Pomerleau (Limerick, Maine) slap shot and buried a bid to the right side of the cage for her fifth strike of the year.

The Monks capped the game scoring early in the third quarter when Rutledge connected off an Alexandra Belaire (Greene, Maine) feed at the 34:25 mark.

THE KEEPERS:

Simpson recorded four saves – including a pair of acrobatic stops on rapid-fire attempts in the 57th minute – to improve to 8-1 on the season. The Terriers split time in the cage, as Mackenzie Oberholzer (Hancock, Md.) took the loss after posting five stops in the first half and Leah Kruse (Norridgewock, Maine) turned away three shots in 30 minutes after intermission.

TEAM STATS:

Saint Joseph's held the advantage in shots (16-6), shots on goal (11-6), and penalty corners (7-5) on the evening.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 18-9 in the history of the series with Thomas College and has now defeated the Terriers in 14-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2007 campaign.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will play at #20 Kean University in New Jersey on Sunday at 12:00 PM.