STANDISH, Maine – Simmons University (4-3, 3-1 GNAC) edged Saint Joseph's College (5-1, 3-1 GNAC), 3-2, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's soccer game at the SJC Athletics Complex on Saturday afternoon.

THE LEAD

With the game tied 2-2 and eight minutes remaining in regulation, Simmons senior midfielder Ciara Forde (Quincy, Mass.) scored her second goal of the game, which proved to be the clincher.

THE REST OF THE STORY

Forde kicked off the game scoring in the 12th minute with a strike off a Mikayla Elliott (Lowell, Mass.) dish and the Sharks managed to keep the Monks off the board until the 67:04 mark, when senior Haley DaGraca (Saco, Maine) buried a penalty kick into the left corner of the net.

Elliott potted a goal of her own 11 minutes later to put her team back on top, 2-1, but Saint Joseph's freshman forward Maddi Cormier (Bangor, Maine) managed to tie the game once again when she cleaned up her own rebound in the 72nd minute. Unfortunately for the Monks, Forde capped the game scoring at the 82:11 mark.

THE KEEPERS

SJC freshman Adia Grogan (Kennebunk, Maine) made three saves in the losing effort while Simmons starter Lauren Williams (Bowdoinham, Maine) made one top in 27:11 minutes – when she was lifted due to an injury – and Lauren Brandau (Madison, Conn.) registered four saves in nearly 63 minutes to pick up the victory.

TEAM STATS

Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (21-9), shots on goal (7-6), and corner kicks (10-3) in the losing effort.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 7-6-1 in the history of the series with Simmons University, a team the Monks had defeated in three-consecutive meetings prior to today's contest.