GORHAM, Maine – In a hard-fought 110 minutes the University of Southern Maine Huskies and the Saint Joseph's College Monks battled to a 1-1 draw in a non-conference women's soccer game Monday afternoon at Hannaford Field.
Playing in their third consecutive overtime (0-1-2) match and fourth overtime game overall, the Huskies stand at 2-13-2 on the season with the draw. Saint Joseph's is winless in its last four games (0-3-1).
Despite controlling the pace of play in the opening half, Southern Maine trailed the Monks 1-0 at the break. USM outshot SJC 8-3 in the first 45 minutes, but senior Sam Peters' (Gorham, Maine) strike in the 31st minute found its way past Huskies' junior goalkeeper Marissa Temple (Grafton, Mass.) for a 1-0 Monks' lead. Junior forward Emily Howes (Scarborough, Maine) played a forward ball to freshman Lauren Stiles (Gorham, Maine) who found Peters' in the box for her fourth goal of the season.
The game remained in favor of the Monks at 1-0 through the half and into the 51st minute overall before Huskies' senior Amy Jose (Oakland, Maine/Messalonskee) unleashed a powerful shot into the upper corner of the net in the 52nd minute for the equalizer. Jose and freshman Emma Dennison (South Portland, Maine) exchanged a give and go on the left side of the field, setting Jose up with some space in the top of the box for her second goal of the season.
Both teams battled through the rest of the regulation with post of the play being contested in the midfield. The Huskies were awarded a direct kick outside of the 18 in the final seconds of play, but time expired prior to getting off of a shot. Saint Joseph's College had two shots (one on goal in overtime) while USM did not register a shot.
Temple finished the game making four saves and making several strong defensive plays for the Huskies. Monks' freshman Brooke Troup (East Bridgewater, Mass.) made six saves, including four in the first half.
The deadlock is the just the second in the 27-year history of the match-up between the in-state rivals, as the Huskies now own a 14-10-2 advantage all-time versus the Monks.
Southern Maine hosts Keene State in its regular season finale on Saturday (2:30 p.m.). Saint Joseph's College heads into post-season play and will travel to Emmanuel College (Mass.) for the quarterfinals of the GNAC Tournament on Sunday (1:00 p.m.).
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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.