Written by Journal Tribine Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar

STANDISH — To gauge the importance of junior forward Danielle Daigle to the Saint Joseph's women's soccer team, Monks coach Jenelle Harris said to look no further than last Sunday's pivotal conference game against Simmons.

After 107 minutes of scoreless play despite a whopping 75 combined shots, Daigle still had the stamina to go all out when her team needed it the most, and it resulted in the game winner when she flew in feet first to score on a rebound and lift St. Joe's to a double overtime victory.

It's the kind of effort Harris has been seeing out of Daigle, a Dayton native and 2011 Thornton Academy graduate, all season.

"She's that kind of player that I know as a coach I can keep in for those minutes, and she's going to do whatever it takes to put the ball in the back of the net," Harris said.

"I could've taken her out after the first (10-minute overtime) to give one of my other forwards a try, but I know she'll sacrifice for the team. She's not worried to sacrifice her body to put the ball in the back of the net. She's going to do everything she can to get us the win."

Winning is something Daigle — who leads the team with six goals — and the Monks have been doing plenty of this season, going 14-2 with a 9-1 mark in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play.

Daigle said the difference between this year's squad and the teams from her first two years in Standish, which went 7-5-5 and 8-5-4 and fell in the first round of the GNAC tournament, has been a simple maturing process.

"We've been playing together for a while," Daigle said. "Everybody's always called us a young team, and now we're older and more experienced. Everyone has the right mindset this season of wanting to win.

"We have more chemistry and we play well together. In the past we've played well individually, but not so much as a team."

That maturing process has happened at even greater pace for Daigle, Harris said, leading to the team naming her a captain this season as a junior.

"She's naturally a leader," Harris said. Now taking that role as captain, she's becoming more of a leader as well and being more positive to her teammates. She's just that kind of player who is always going to be motivating, is always going to be encouraging, not only by the way that she plays but verbally as well.

"And she brings a lot of intensity to the game, which is a good domino effect for the rest of the players."

Harris also said she's seen growth in Daigle on the mental side, particularly in knowing when to go 100 percent and when to dial it back a bit throughout a 90-minute game, something Daigle said has come with experience.

"I'm more comfortable now. As a freshman I was so nervous before every game because I knew I would be starting among the seniors," she said. "I thought I had to do 20 different things at the same time, while this year I'm much more relaxed and taking things as they come."

Following a 2-1 win against Suffolk on Wednesday, St. Joe's moved to just a half-game behind conference-leading Lasell, who the Monks played on Saturday in their conference season finale (results weren't available as of press time).

After going out in the quarterfinal round each of the past two seasons, Daigle said she felt the current squad has what it takes to bring home the programs first-ever GNAC tournament title.

"That's the goal," she said. "Definitely."

— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323.

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.