STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (1-0) opened the 2018 campaign with a 3-2 victory over Skidmore College (0-1) in non-conference field hockey action at the SJC Athletics Complex on Friday afternoon.
THE LEAD
Facing a 1-0 deficit early in the first half, the Monks rallied with a pair of goals off the stick of junior Libby Pomerleau (Limerick, Maine) – in a matter of just two minutes and 16 seconds – to grab a 2-1 advantage heading into halftime. The 2-1 score remained until the 65:23 mark when senior defender Kayla Veilleux (Sabattus, Maine) netted the first goal of her career off an Alexandra Belaire (Greene, Maine) feed, making it a 3-1 game.
As it played out, the Thoroughbreds managed to score on a penalty corner play after regulation time expired to account for the 3-2 final.
THE KEEPERS
Saint Joseph's senior netminder Megan Baker (Gorham, Maine) registered seven saves to pick up her 39th career victory while her counterpart, Skidmore senior keeper Elizabeth Coughlin (Kennebunk, Maine), turned away seven shots in a losing effort.
STATS
- Belaire was credited with a pair of assists in the victory and senior Arianna Kahler (Lisbon Falls, Maine) assisted on the tying goal
- For Skidmore, senior Marissa Folts (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) and freshman Mariah Redler (Winchester, Mass.) posted a goal apiece while Meaghan Lynch (Sudbury, Mass.) and Gabby Hyman (Bernardsville, N.J.) dealt assists for the visitors
- Sophomore defender Natalie Metzger (Niskayuna, N.Y.) and senior forward Emily Richmond (Dallas, Texas) both notched a defensive save for the Thoroughbreds
NOTEABLE
- Today's contest was the 400th in the 24-year history of the Saint Joseph's College field hockey program
- Pomerleau, who has now scored two or more goals in a game 11 times in her career, has netted 40 career goals – she is just the third SJC player to hit the 40 mark (Kayla Nowell '10 (57), Julia Ostrowski '09 (46))
- Skidmore received votes in the NFHCA DIII preseason poll, narrowly missing the top 20 by just two spots
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 1-1 in the history of the series with Skidmore College, a team that defeated the Monks, 2-0, in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament on November 12th, 2016. Nine current SJC players appeared in the 2016 'Sweet 16' setback.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host non-conference foe Wellesley College on Sunday in an 11:00 AM start while Skidmore College concludes the Maine tour with a 12:00 PM game at Thomas College tomorrow.
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