WEST HARTFORD, CT – Saint Joseph's College (7-6, 6-1 GNAC) outscored University of Saint Joseph (CT) (3-6, 2-4 GNAC) by a 12-3 margin en route to securing a 17-9 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory on Thursday. Sophomore Kat Gadbois (Scarborough, Maine) scored three goals with two assists in the triumph.
The Monks held a 3-1 lead after sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Elcock (Westwood, Mass.) potted her fourth goal of the season – off a Gadbois pass – with 21:17 remaining in the first half. The two-goal cushion was quickly erased however, as the Blue Jays countered with four unanswered tallies and held a 5-3 lead after Haley Tufano (Farmington, Conn.) scored at the 12:53 mark.
St. Joe's proceeded to knot the game at 6-6 with a 3-1 outburst in the final 10 minutes of the opening frame. Junior midfielder Lizzie Calnan (Westport, Mass.) scored two of the goals, including a free-position strike at the 1:51 mark, making it a six-all game heading into halftime.
Saint Joseph's came to life in the second stanza and rattled off five straight scores in the first nine minutes of the latter half to attain an 11-6 advantage. Five different players scored during the outburst, with sophomore attack Mary Leasure (Portland, Maine/McAuley) rounding out the stretch with 21 minutes left.
Erika Leitao (Southington, Conn.) broke the hosts' scoreless stretch – which spanned 18 minutes – with a marker off a Dayna Gambino (Newington, Conn.) dish 39 seconds later, but the Monks went on to net four straight to put the game well out of reach.
For the Monks, seniors Cassie Diplock (Augusta, Maine) and Anneka Adame (San Diego, Calif.) scored three goals apiece, Calnan and Macy Pagurko (Augusta, Maine) both scored twice and Elcock notched a goal and an assist. Emma Lafrance (Westport, Mass.) picked up seven ground balls and Calnan added six draw controls and five ground balls in the victory.
Rachel Foster (Newington, Conn.) tallied three goals and an assist, Tufano scored three times and Gambino contributed two goals and a pair of assists for the Blue Jays.
In goal, freshman Emma Astbury (Bridgewater, Vt.) made eight saves to register her first collegiate victory in her second start of the season while Blue Jays netminder Anne Pitoniak (West Haven, Conn.) made 16 saves in taking the loss.
Overall, Saint Joseph's held advantages in shots (42-22), ground balls and draw controls (17-11) on the afternoon. With the victory, the Monks improve to 7-0 in the history of the series with the Blue Jays.
Saint Joseph's plays at Rivier University on Sunday in a GNAC contest slated to start at 1:00 PM while University of Saint Joseph (CT) travels to Northfield, Vermont on Saturday for a 1:00 PM contest versus conference-rival Norwich University.
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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.
