STANDISH, ME - #2 Saint Joseph's College (15-3, 7-2 NAC) defeated #3 Husson University (10-8, 6-3 NAC), 2-1, in a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Field Hockey Tournament semifinal at Mercy Field on Wednesday afternoon.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's advances to the NAC Championship game for the fourth time in the last six seasons. The Monks will play at top-seeded Castleton State College in the title bout on Saturday at 4:30 PM. The Spartans routed #4 Maine-Farmington, 7-0, in the other NAC tourney semifinal this afternoon to advance to the conference championship. The loss signals the end of the 2013 campaign for Husson University, which defeated Thomas College, 2-1, in a quarterfinal matchup on Saturday to move on to the semifinal round.

Freshman Kelsey Dumond (Lewiston, Maine) and senior Carley Denis (Lewiston, Maine) scored the SJC goals and sophomore Amanda Celata (Dedham, Mass.) was credited with an assist on both markers in the 2-1 victory, which was the Monks' first NAC Tournament win over the Eagles in four postseason meetings. Previously, Husson had defeated Saint Joseph's in the conference championship on two occasions (2010, 2011) and also tipped the Royal Blue in a NAC semifinal in 2009. All three games ended in 2-1 scores.

The victory is also historically meaningful for ninth-year Head Coach Rupert Lewis, who became the first Saint Joseph's College field hockey skipper to reach the 100-win plateau with the triumph. Coach Lewis inherited a program that recorded 14 wins in the previous four years combined and has enjoyed seven winning seasons in his first nine years at the helm.

After a scoreless first half in which Saint Joseph's owned an 8-0 shots advantage, the hosts finally hit pay dirt 2:07 into the second stanza when Dumond netted her eighth goal of the year. Awarded a penalty corner, junior Effie Drew (Portland, Maine) served as the injector to the left of the Eagles' cage and flicked the ball in-bounds to senior Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus), who quickly passed to Celata on her right. In space, Celata wound up for a shot that was deflected into the right side of the goal by Dumond, who was stationed near the right goalpost, to put the Monks on the board.

Denis went on to double the hosts' lead at the 55:29 mark when she scored her third goal of the year. The senior potted what proved to be the game-clincher with a booming shot from just inside the circle in the left slot off a short Celata feed.

Trailing 2-0, the Eagles shifted into a new gear and essentially controlled play for the remainder of the tourney tilt. The offensive pressure paid off in the 60th minute, when sophomore Britt Mellor (Belfast, Maine) scored off a Taylor Lovley (Newport, Maine) dish on a penalty corner play. Senior Sabrina Vaillancourt (Newport, Maine) was the injector on the corner and the ball eventually found Lovley on the right side and the freshman steered a hard shot on goal. The ball made its way through traffic and found the stick of Mellor, who was positioned on the left post and tipped what would be the Eagles' lone goal of the afternoon.

With the one-goal deficit back in play, Husson continued to pressure the Monks' defense, but the SJC back line held on, despite the fact that the Eagles attempted five penalty corners in the closing 10 minutes of play.

In goal, Husson sophomore Maicee Gustin (Dexter, Maine) made seven saves in a losing effort while Saint Joseph's netminder Emma Astbury (Bridgewater, Vt.) went without a save to post her 15th win of the year.

Saint Joseph's held a commanding 15-1 lead in shots while Husson posted a 14-6 advantage in penalty corners – including an 11-3 lead in the second half - on the afternoon.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 15-17 in the history of the series with Husson University and has defeated the Eagles in consecutive meetings for the first time since 2008/09.

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 430-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.