STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (7-6-0, 4-2-0 GNAC) edged Suffolk University (3-10-0, 2-4-0 GNAC), 2-1, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's soccer match at Westerlea Way Field on Wednesday afternoon.
THE LEAD
The Monks scored both of their goals fairly early in the first half, as freshman Colleen Sheehan (Medway, Mass.) netted her third marker of the season at the 16-minute mark and sophomore Sarah Comtois (Lowell, Mass.) potted her third tally of the year 10 minutes later. Both scores were of the unassisted variety.
The Rams cut their deficit in half 3:52 into the second stanza, when sophomore Jennifer Martin (Higganum, Conn.) scored off an Erika Nelson (Peabody, Mass.) feed, but Saint Joseph's withstood the visitors' offensive pressure late to claim the conference triumph.
GOAL HISTORY
1. 16:00 SJMWS15 Colleen Sheehan (unassisted)
Sheehan put the Monks on the board early with a perfectly placed kick from the left about 20 yards out. The shot sailed into the top right of the net, beyond the reach of Suffolk keeper Kirsten Weiker (Durham, N.H.).
2. 26:02 SJMWS15 Sarah Comtois (unassisted)
Comtois scored the first game-winning goal of her career on a scrum near the goalmouth after a corner kick. Senior Whitney White (Salem, N.H.) sent the corner attempt into the heart of the box, finding Comtois who clanged a header off the crossbar, settled the rebound and fought her way to the right post where she chopped a shot to the lower right corner.
3. 48:52 SUF Jennifer Martin Erika Nelson
The Rams tightened the collar on the Monks early in the second frame, as Martin received a lead pass from Nelson and streaked down the left side of the field before unleashing a laser from nearly the same location as Sheehan's strike in the first half. SJC goalkeeper Brooke Troup (East Bridgewater, Mass.) appeared to have the angle, but the shot found a narrow gap between the Monks' netminder and the left goal post.
NOTABLES
Comtois paced the Monks with four shots, including a pair of headers off the crossbar
Freshman forward Haley DaGraca (Saco, Maine) and junior midfielder Desiree Parent (Westborough, Mass.) registered three shots apiece in the victory
For Suffolk, Martin registered four shots with a pair on target, in the setback
THE KEEPERS
For the Monks, Troup made three saves in 55:29 between the pipes and senior Michelle Cunha (Enfield, Conn.) went untested in 34:31 of relief.
Weiker tallied four stops for the Rams.
TEAM TOTALS
Saint Joseph's owned leads in both shots (14-8) and corners (5-2) while just three fouls were called – all in the second half – in the contest, with the Monks' being called for a pair of infractions.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 7-1-2 in the history of the matchup with Suffolk University. The Monks and Rams dueled to a 2-2 tie in Boston last season and Suffolk has not defeated St. Joe's since toppling the Royal Blue by a 6-2 margin on September 22nd, 2010.
NEXT!
The Monks close out the season with five-consecutive conference contests, starting with a 1:00 PM home match versus Johnson & Wales University (6-5-1, 4-1-1 GNAC) on Saturday. St. Joe's is 2-2-4 all-time against JWU and suffered a 2-0 setback at the hands of the Wildcats in Providence last fall.
Suffolk looks to snap a four-game losing streak on Saturday, when the Rams host crosstown rival Simmons College in a GNAC match slated for a 7:00 PM kick-off.
#GOMONKS
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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 474-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.