STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (8-1, 3-0 GNAC) cruised past Castleton State College (0-8, 0-2 NAC), 6-1, in a non-conference field hockey match at Mercy Field on Sunday afternoon. Sophomore Kelsey Dumond (Lewiston, Maine) scored a pair of goals in what was a rematch of the 2013 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship.
The Monks grabbed an early lead when Dumond scored off a Bailey Cutler (Lisbon Falls, Maine) pass at the 3:07 mark and senior Effie Drew (Portland, Maine) made it a 2-0 game 13:50 later when she netted her team-high ninth goal of the season after dangling through a trio of Castleton defenders inside the circle.
The Spartans cut their deficit to 2-1 in the 21st minute when senior Kristy Pinkham (Brandon, Vt.) scored on the visitors' first penalty corner attempt. Sophomore Haley Spittle (Duxbury, Vt.) served as the corner injector and was credited with an assist on the play after dealing a crisp pass to Pinkham at the top of the circle.
Any hope the Spartans had of tying the game was short lived however, as Dumond potted her second marker of the afternoon at the 23:30 mark and senior Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) found the back of the cage three minutes later to extend the St. Joe's advantage to 4-1 going into intermission.
Cutler netted her sixth goal of the season with an odd-angle shot 3:41 into second stanza and junior Amanda Celata (Dedham, Mass.) closed out the game scoring with a breakaway tally in the 50th minute.
Castleton keepers Jess Galatioto (Queensbury, N.Y.) and Meeghan Doris (New Milford, Conn.) split the contest in goal, making nine and six saves, respectively, in a losing effort. SJC netminder Emma Astbury (Bridgewater, Vt.) did not make a stop in a complete game performance.
Overall, Saint Joseph's held a 29-3 advantage in shots and a 15-3 lead in penalty corners on the afternoon. With the victory, the Monks improved to 6-8 in the history of the series with Castleton State, which entered today's game having defeated the Royal Blue in four-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2010 season. Prior to this afternoon, neither program had scored more than four goals in a game versus the other.
Both teams resume play with non-conference games on the road on Wednesday, when Saint Joseph's travels to Thomas College for a 5:00 PM start and Castleton State treks to Springfield College for a 4:00 PM kick-off.
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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 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.
