STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's (2-1-1, 1-0-1 GNAC) erased a 1-0 halftime deficit with six goals in the second stanza en route to a 6-2 victory over Suffolk University (2-2, 0-1 GNAC) in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's soccer action at Westerlea Way Field on Wednesday afternoon.
Six different SJC players scored in the triumph and two freshmen – Danielle Daigle (Dayton, Maine) and Doe Leckie (Naples, Maine) – netted a goal and an assist apiece in the important conference victory. The Monks' six tallies was twice the total the side had scored over the first three games of the 2011 campaign.
The SJC offense did not come out firing early, however. Suffolk sophomore Monica Wolf (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) kicked off the game scoring with a booming shot at the 15:24 mark from the left, just beyond the 18, that sailed past the reach of Monks netminder Jaci Lorenzen '14 (Windham, Maine) into the top right corner of the net.
The 1-0 edge held true until the 55th minute when St. Joe's sophomore Kelsea Marchand (Boscawen, N.H.) scored off a misplayed rebound in the Rams' goalie box to knot the game.
Kim Jordan '15 (Bangor, Maine) provided the Royal Blue with its first lead of the afternoon when she beat Suffolk keeper Hannah McNulty '15 (Stow, Vt.) with a one-timer off a beautiful Leckie dish at the 66:28 mark. The score was the first of Jordan's young collegiate career.
Leckie proceeded to net her first NCAA marker just two minutes later as the freshman headed in a pass from Jennifer Keaney '13 (Scituate, Mass.) to lift Saint Joseph's to a 3-1 advantage.
The Rams answered at the 75:05 mark when Taylor Miranda '14 (Smithtown, N.Y.), the 2010 GNAC Offensive Player of the Year, netted a quick goal off a perfect cross pass from Kelsey Cavaretta '13 (Marcellus, N.Y.) to cut the Monks lead in half with 15 minutes left.
The tension often found in a one-goal game didn't last long however, as Saint Joseph's went on to tally three unanswered goals in the closing seven minutes of play to seal the conference win.
Catherine Murch '15 (West Baldwin, Maine) became the third SJC freshman to score her first goal when she capitalized on a breakaway attempt with a shot from the 18 to the bottom right corner at the 83:43 mark. Katherine Chambers '13 (Hampden, Maine) represented the upperclassmen with a marker off a Daigle dish in the 90th minute and Daigle scored the dagger goal just 40 seconds later to cap the game scoring.
For Saint Joseph's, the half-dozen second-stanza tallies is the most scored in a half since the Monks netted six goals in the first period of a 9-2 victory over Pine Manor College on October 20th, 2007.
Suffolk, 13-4-1 overall last fall and forecasted to finish second in the GNAC in this year's preseason poll, held advantages in shots (20-16) and corner kicks (6-2) in a losing effort.
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 4-1 in the history of the series with Suffolk. The Rams toppled the Monks on their home turf last fall, 6-2.
Both sides will face conference foes on the road in 1:00 PM starts on Saturday. St. Joe's will play at Albertus Magnus College while Suffolk is set to face Johnson & Wales University.
