STANDISH, Maine – Emmanuel College (11-8-0, 8-3-0 GNAC) topped Saint Joseph's College (8-9-1, 5-5-1 GNAC), 1-0, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's soccer contest at Westerlea Way Field on Saturday afternoon. Freshman goalkeeper Brooke Troup (East Bridgewater, Mass.) made seven saves in the loss.
Today's result solidified Emmanuel's position as the #2 seed in the upcoming GNAC Tournament while Saint Joseph's has claimed the #7 seed. The Monks and Saints will square off again in a GNAC quarterfinal match on Sunday, November 2nd in Boston (start time TBD).
The visiting Saints posted the game's lone goal at the 22:18 mark of the first half when senior Kelsie Dumas (Dalton, Mass.) tallied her team-leading 12th tally of the season. In possession near the back line to the right of Troup, junior Molly Carey (Lynn, Mass.) lofted a cross to the right post, a feed that went through the hands of the Monks' keeper and landed at the feet of Dumas, who gathered the bouncing ball in traffic and tapped it in for the 1-0 lead.
Emmanuel held a 16-10 advantage in shots, but Saint Josephs' had plenty of opportunities to tie the contest, including a pair of attempts that found nothing but iron, as senior Danielle Daigle (Dayton, Maine) clanged a shot off a post at the 20:37 mark and senior Kim Jordan (Bangor, Maine) did the same mere seconds after the Saint's goal.
Emmanuel College freshman keeper Victoria Laroche (Hudson, N.H.) made two saves to record her third shutout of the season.
Prior to the start of the match, the Monks held a brief ceremony to honor the progam's seven seniors: Daigle, Jordan, Kelly Flaherty (Wilmington, Mass.), Sam Peters (Gorham, Maine), Lauren Titus (Arundel, Maine), Megan Ford (Pembroke, Mass.) and Bria Prophete (Saugus, Mass.). This group has helped the women's soccer program record a 38-22-11 (.633) record over the past four seasons.
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 3-7 in the history of the series with Emmanuel College, a team the Royal Blue defeated by a 3-1 margin in Boston last fall.
The Monks will cap the regular season with a non-conference match at Southern Maine on Monday at 3:00 PM while Emmanuel plays at Framingham State on Tuesday at 3:00 PM.
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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.
