NORTH YARMOUTH, ME – A trio of second-half goals lifted Castleton State College (14-2, 8-0 NAC) past Saint Joseph's College (8-6, 4-4 NAC) in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) field hockey action at Lewis Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Monks outshot the visiting Spartans by a 6-1 margin in the opening stanza, but could not get a shot past Castleton sophomore keeper Jessica Galatioto (Queensbury, N.Y.), who recorded a pair of stops in the first half.
The conference counterparts made halftime adjustments and the Spartans wasted little time getting on the board in the second half, as senior Mercedes Maltbie (Warrensburg, N.Y.) beat SJC keeper Taylor Allison (Pawtucket, R.I.) with a shot off a penalty corner just 1:20 into the latter period. Junior Rachel Preusser (Craryville, N.Y.) was credited with an assist on the play.
Castleton, ranked fifth in New England East according to the latest NCAA Regional Rankings, managed to tack on two more goals later in the second half, both following scrums near the goalmouth. Junior Blake Wardwell (Bridgewater, Vt.) added the Spartans' second goal of the afternoon at the 50:50 mark after collecting a rebound off a Preusser shot and Preusser, who tallied a game-high four shots on goal, netted her 16th goal of the season nine minutes later. Allison stopped a shot taken by sophomore Karissa McCoy (Waterboro, Maine), but Preusser was in position to corral the rebound and pushed a shot to the back of the cage to account for the 3-0 final.
The Monks, applying plenty of pressure late in the contest, had opportunities to get on the board in the closing eight minutes but could not solve Galatioto in a shutout loss. Amanda Celata (Dedham, Mass.), Brittany Locke (Waterville, Maine), Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) and Meghan Williams (Greenland, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas) all steered shots on target in the closing minutes, but Castleton's junior netminder proved up to the task on all four bids.
Allison made six saves in a losing effort, while Galatioto tallied eight stops for Castleton in the shutout victory. Saint Joseph's held slim advantages in both shots (14-12) and penalty corners (10-9) on the afternoon.
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 5-6 in the history of the series with Castleton State College, which began the week ranked second in the nation with 4.71 goals per game. The Spartans, who defeated St. Joe's 4-3 last fall, have now defeated the Monks in consecutive meetings.
For the Monks, the regular-season shutout loss is just the second versus a NAC opponent in five years as a member of the conference. The only other shutout setback occurred on October 4th, 2008, when Maine-Farmington blanked the Royal Blue by a 1-0 score.
Both teams resume conference play tomorrow afternoon, when Saint Joseph's hosts Colby-Sawyer College at 12:00 PM and Castleton travels to Husson University for a 1:00 PM contest.
Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.
