STANDISH, Maine – Freshman forward Haley DaGraca (Saco, Maine) provided all the offense to lift Saint Joseph's College (9-9-0, 6-5-0 GNAC) past Norwich University (3-11-1, 1-8-1 GNAC), 3-0, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's soccer match at Westerlea Way Field on Saturday afternoon.

THE LEAD

Saint Joseph's maintained control throughout the game, but held just a 1-0 edge at halftime despite holding a 15-3 shots advantage in the opening frame. The Monks continued to pressure the Cadets in the second stanza and the effort paid off when DaGraca netted a pair of goals in a matter three minutes and 10 seconds, midway through the period, to account for the 3-0 final.

GOAL HISTORY

1.              26:46     SJMWS15             Haley DaGraca   Sarah Comtois

The Monks recorded numerous scoring chances early, including a pair of shots that found metal, and finally found the back of the net in the 27th minute. Setting up the play was sophomore midfielder Sarah Comtois (Lowell, Mass.), who took charge on a loose ball and launched a perfect left-to-right cross to DaGraca, who was running towards the right post and one-timed a header into the right side of the net.

2.              53:55     SJMWS15             Haley DaGraca   Hannah LeBlanc

DaGraca struck for her second tally of the chilly afternoon on a play that was nearly an exact mirror image of her first marker. Senior forward Hannah LeBlanc (Andover, Mass.), who ran down the right side of the pitch with the ball, engineered the score with a long pass from near the end line, finding DaGraca who finished the play with another one-timed header.

3.              57:05     SJMWS15             Haley DaGraca   Hannah LeBlanc

The LeBlanc – DaGraca duo hooked up again just over three minutes later, as the senior fed the freshman with a bounding lead pass just inside the box. DaGraca played the ball with a header down to her feet, alluding two defenders in the process, to create a 1v1 with Norwich junior keeper Holly Lutz (Hamburg, N.J.) and beat the opposing netminder with a tap into the lower left corner.

THE KEEPERS

For Saint Joseph's, senior Michelle Cunha (Enfield, Conn.) recorded three stops in 72:41 between the pipes and sophomore Brooke Troup (East Bridgewater, Mass.) went untested in 17:19 of work. Cunha started the contest and replaced Troup, who began the second half in goal, at the 62:19 mark.

Lutz made 10 saves in a losing effort for the Cadets.

SENIOR MOMENT

Prior to the start of this afternoon's contest, the women's soccer program held a brief Senior Day Ceremony to honor the team's six seniors: Cunha, LeBlanc, Stacy Anuszewski (Clarksboro, N.J.), Megen Pollini (Wolfeboro, N.H.), Bria Prophete (Saugus, Mass.) and Whitney White (Salem, N.H.). The women's soccer Class of 2016 has helped the Monks post a 40-27-7 (.597) overall record with a 24-16-5 (.600) mark in GNAC play over the past four seasons.

TEAM STATS

Saint Joseph's held considerable advantages in shots (27-5) and corner kicks (4-0) while being called for eight fouls in the victory. Norwich was hit with three infractions on the afternoon.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 5-2-2 in the history of the series with Norwich University and has now defeated the Cadets in four-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2012 campaign. The Monks blanked the Cadets by the same 3-0 score in Northfield, Vermont last fall and have not allowed a goal to their conference counterparts since the sides battled to a 1-1 stalemate on September 10th, 2011.

NEXT!

The Monks kick off GNAC Tournament play with a quarterfinal contest (opponent TBD) next Saturday. Norwich completes the 2015 schedule with a GNAC match at Anna Maria College (4:00 PM) on Tuesday.

The GNAC Tournament bracket will be announced in the coming days.

2015 Women's Soccer Senior Day

#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.