WESTON, Mass. – Senior Haley DaGraca (Saco, Maine) singlehandedly negated a first-half deficit with three unanswered goals to lift Saint Joseph's College (4-0, 2-0 GNAC) past Regis College (3-2, 1-1 GNAC), 3-1, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's soccer play on Wednesday night.
THE LEAD
The Monks faced their first deficit of the season when in the 22nd minute freshman midfielder Kaylee Francis (Millis, Mass.) scored off a rebound in the box, marking the first goal Saint Joseph's yielded this fall.
The 1-0 edge held true until DaGraca scored her first goal of the night just 1:28 into the second period when she broke free of the Pride defense and capitalized on a breakaway. The senior forward put her team on top 22 minutes later when she potted her third goal of the season with a shot from about 25 yards out that landed in the upper left corner of the net.
DaGraca proceeded to register the seventh hat trick of her career with a goal off a free kick, taken from the left wing from about 20 yards out.
RECORD BREAKER
DaGraca entered tonight's contest with 113 career points, two shy of the Monks' career record, and surpassed the mark with her second goal of the evening. The 26 year-old record was formerly held by Kathy Britton '93, who scored 115 points (44 goals, 27 assists) in three seasons.
DaGraca now owns the Monks' career records for goals (54), points (119), game-winning goals (15), and shots (304).
THE KEEPERS
Saint Joseph's freshman Adia Grogan (Kennebunk, Maine), who kicked off her NCAA career with three consecutive shutouts, allowed her first collegiate goal but made four saves to claim her fourth victory in as many games.
Regis netminder Oriana Attridge (Westwood, Mass.) played well and kept her team in the game with nine stops in the setback.
TEAM STATS
Saint Joseph's held considerable leads in shots (22-6), shots on goal (12-5), and corner kicks (5-0) in the victory.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the win, Saint Joseph's is now 1-0-1 all-time versus Regis College. The conference counterparts played to a 1-1 stalemate in Standish last fall.
NEXT!
Both teams resume conference play Saturday, when Saint Joseph's travels to Rivier University for a 1:00 PM kick-off and Regis hosts University of Saint Joseph's in a 2:30 PM start.
