PORTLAND, ME – Saint Joseph's (5-6, 3-0 GNAC) remained undefeated in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play by defeating Becker College (2-7, 2-1 GNAC), 8-5, at Deering Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore midfielder Jake Ricciardi (Sharon, Mass.) netted four goals in the SJC victory.
The visiting Hawks held a 3-1 lead after freshman attacker James Conley (Barnstable, Mass.) scored his second goal of the game with 4:56 remaining in the first quarter, but the Monks tallied three unanswered goals, including two from senior attackman Jonathan Horgan (Hingham, Mass.), and headed into halftime with a 4-3 edge.
Freshman attackman Andrew Sullivan (Rochester, N.H.) added to the Monks' cushion with his sixth goal of the season 3:25 into the third stanza. Becker junior Jeff Petersen (Syracuse, N.Y.) cut his team's deficit back down to one score with a marker off a Joe Ignagni (Kingston, Mass.) feed 10 minutes later, but Ricciardi rattled off three unanswered goals in the fourth quarter to seal the SJC victory.
Peterson connected for his second goal of the contest with 1:54 remaining to close out the game-scoring.
St. Joe's goalkeeper Christopher Driscoll (Saco, Maine) posted six stops to earn the win while senior netminder Josh Smith (Lewes, Del.) recorded 11 saves in a losing effort for Becker.
For the Monks, Horgan tallied three goals, eight ground balls and three caused turnovers and senior midfielder Benson Pasquarello (Kennebunk, Maine) added three assists.
For the Hawks, Conley produced two goals and an assist, Petersen added two goals, an assist and six ground balls, Michael Whalen (Warwick, R.I.) corralled nine ground balls and won 11 of 14 face-off attempts, and Jonathan Ferreira (Warwick, R.I.) chipped in with six ground balls.
With the win Saint Joseph's improves to 3-1 in the history of the series with Becker College. The Monks have now defeated the Hawks in three consecutive meetings.
Saint Joseph's will face GNAC-rival Lasell College on the road on Wednesday at 4:00 PM while Becker returns to action on Monday with a non-conference contest at Wheelock College starting at 3:30 PM.
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.
