NEWTON, Mass. – A pair of goals scored by St. Joseph's College senior Jessica Capozzi (Saugus, Mass.) led the Monks to a 3-1 victory over Mount Ida College on Wednesday evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's soccer at Alumni Field.
The Mustangs (2-9, 1-5 GNAC) tied the game at a goal apiece thanks to senior Briana Tomaselli (Warwick, R.I.), who scored her seventh goal of the year in the 67th minute, but the Monks scored twice in a span of ten minutes down the stretch to reclaim the lead and then seal their tenth win of the season, to just two losses (5-1 GNAC).
The game-winner, Capozzi's third goal of the year, came in the 73rd minute, when she collected her own rebound and was left with a wide-open net after freshman Rebecca Beaulieu (Weare, N.H.) had made a nice reflex save for the Mustangs.
Beaulieu made five saves in the loss, while her counterpart, senior Jaci Lorenzen (Windham, Maine) made two stops.
The visitors outshot Mount Ida 16-12, and had a slim 3-2 edge in corner kicks, but the Green and White stayed with them for the bulk of the game, which saw a scoreless first half hour of play.
It was a corner kick chance that opened the scoring for St. Joseph's, when Megen Pollini (Wolfeboro, N.H.) delivered the ball in that Capozzi was able to redirect into the net just over the thirty minute mark.
Tomaselli tied the game in fine style with a strike from 20 yards out that sailed past Lorenzen and into the top far corner of the net.
Capozzi's second of the game came just six minutes after the equalizer, but Mount Ida continued to chase the game and find another tying goal.
Junior Sam Peters (Gorham, Maine) put the contest out of reach in the 83rd minute, as she easily slid home an insurance goal after the ball had gotten over the head of Beaulieu.
Tomaselli and Sierra Legge (Schodack Landing, N.Y.) each had three shots for the Mustangs, while sophomore Isabelle Moody (Naugatuck, Conn.) led all players with five shots.
Capozzi had four shots, as did her teammate Kim Jordan (Bangor, Maine), and five of their combined eight attempts were on target.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 6-0-1 in the history of the series with Mount Ida College. The Monks and Mustangs dueled to a 2-2 stalemate last fall.
Mount Ida turns their attention to similar sounding but geographically opposite University of St. Joseph in West Hartford, Conn. They will take the field on the road against the Blue Jays on Saturday at 1:00 pm.
The Monks will be back in the Boston area on Saturday afternoon when they return south for a GNAC game against Emmanuel College at 12:00 pm.
COURTESY OF MOUNT IDA COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION
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.