GORHAM, Maine -- Sophomore Kara Kelly (York, Maine) scored with 2:34 remaining in regulation time to give the visiting Saint Joseph's College (Me.) Monks an 11-10 victory over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a non-conference women's lacrosse game Monday afternoon at Hannaford Field.
The win improved the Monks overall record to 9-3, and was their eighth win in the last nine games. The Huskies dropped their third straight game to fall back to .500 at 7-7 overall.
Kelly's goal put a damper on the Huskies' comeback bid that saw them overcome a four-goal deficit and take a 10-9 lead with 6:12 remaining. The Monks tied the game at 10-10 when junior Elyse Caiazzo (Scarborough, Maine) converted a free position try into her fourth goal of the game at 3:53.
USM won the ensuing draw and got a shot that SJC rookie goalie Kaylin Mansir (West Gardiner, Maine) stopped. The Monks successfully cleared the ball and set up their offense at the other end. The ball came to the front of the net where there was a mad scrum for possession that resulted in Kelly scooping up the ball and firing a shot past USM sophomore goalie Hala Van Nostrand (Granby, Conn.).
Saint Joseph's was able to run out the clock after winning the draw, and despite a turnover that gave the ball back to USM. The home side tried a long pass that resulted in a turnover, and the Monks then ran out the clock.
Sophomore Samantha Medlin's (Kingston, Mass.) goal with 16:30 left to play put the Monks up 9-5 and with the momentum. A quick goal 16 seconds later by USM rookie Ruth Nadeau (Bath, Maine) ignited a run of five straight USM goals. Nadeau scored again 30 seconds later and the momentum had swung the other way.
Senior Lauren Lessard (Lewiston, Maine/Kents Hill) pulled USM within one at 14:24. Eight minutes later, sophomore Aliza Jordan (Gorham, Maine) scored on a free-position attempt to tie the game at 9-9. Again, the Huskies struck right off the draw with Nadeau scoring the go ahead goal at 6:12 after taking a pass in stride from rookie Megan Violette (Portland, Maine/Deering).
Caiazzo led the Monks offense with four goals, and Kelly had five points on three goals and two assists. Senior Jackie Wilson (Tiverton, R.I.) had a goal and won five draw controls. Mansir stopped eight shots to collect her ninth win of the season.
Nadeau led USM's scorers with three goals. Lessard, Jordan, and senior Sam Campobasso (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle) score two goals apiece. Van Nostrand made 11 saves.
Southern Maine concludes the regular season on Saturday (12:00 p.m.) with a road game at Little East Conference foe Western Connecticut State University. Saint Joseph's travels to Emmanuel College on Thursday (7:00 p.m.) for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference game.
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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 474-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.