PORTLAND, ME – Saint Joseph's College (2-0) raced past Husson University (0-1), 17-3, in a non-conference women's lacrosse contest at Deering Memorial Stadium on Monday evening. Junior attacker Krystal Walsh (Springvale, Maine) tallied two goals, two assists, three ground balls and three caused turnovers in the victory.
The Monks were dominant in every facet as the hosts registered considerable advantages in shots (31-8), ground balls (32-15) and draw controls (19-3) in the 14-goal triumph. Saint Joseph's opened play with eight unanswered goals and held the Eagles, who recorded only three shots in the first half, without an attempt on goal until the 23:19 mark of the opening stanza.
Nine different Saint Joseph's players found the back of the net as the hosts were led by hat trick efforts from Cassie Diplock (Augusta, Maine), Macy Pagurko (Augusta, Maine) and Taylor Allison (Pawtucket, R.I.) on the evening. Sophomore midfielder Lizzie Calnan (Westport, Mass.) added a pair of markers with four draw controls while Kirstin McCombs (Lewiston, Maine), Mary Leasure (South Portland, Maine/McAuley) and Kat Gadbois (Scarborough, Maine) netted a goal apiece for the Royal Blue. Junior midfielder Anneka Adame (San Diego, Calif.) also hit pay dirt and added nine draw controls and four ground balls and junior defender Rachelle Messuri (Atkinson, N.H.) produced four caused turnovers in the victory.
Junior keepers Haley Nason (Saco, Maine) and Elizabeth Giacchino shared time in goal for the Monks and both netminders made one stop during their respective halves.
Caitlyn Stauffer (Brookfield, Conn.), Abi Staab (Berlin, Vt.) and Charlotte Gerhardy (Denver, Colo.) accounted for the Husson scoring while Amanda Mora (Stratford, Conn.) tallied two assists and Emily Child (Mexico, Maine) scooped up a game-high five ground balls in a losing effort.
Husson senior goalkeeper Chelsea Kondratowicz (Kingston, N.Y.) made 11 saves for the visitors.
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 4-0-1 in the history of the series with Husson University. The Monks have now started a campaign with consecutive victories in four straight years. The 14-goal winning margin in the win over the Eagles is the largest since the Royal Blue toppled Pine Manor College by the same 17-3 score on March 20th, 2010.
Also of note, St. Joe's set a new program single-game record with 19 caused turnovers in today's victory. The previous mark (18) was originally set in a 15-9 loss to Rivier University on April 9th, 2011.
Saint Joseph's returns to action on Sunday when the Monks play at Goucher College in Towson, Maryland. The game, played during the Monks' first-ever spring trip, is slated to begin at 3:00 PM. Husson hosts Norwich University at 5:00 PM on Thursday night.
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 350-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.