STANDISH, Maine – Freshman Isabella Littler (Fayette, Maine) scored off a Maya Waryas (Bellows Falls, Vt.) pass 3:48 into overtime play to lift Saint Joseph's College (1-3, 1-0 GNAC) past University of Saint Joseph (0-3, 0-1 GNAC), 1-0, in a hotly contested Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) field hockey matchup at the SJC Athletics Complex on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Both teams had multiple scoring opportunities during regulation but the dueling goalkeepers – SJC junior Kassidy Collins (Pittston, Maine) and USJ senior Wendy Bowden (Old Saybrook, Conn.) proved to be up to the task to force extra play.
The overtime frame – as stipulated by the NCAA: 10 minutes of 7v7 play with another to follow, and then penalty strokes, if needed – featured several full field sprints before Waryas found Littler in the circle for the game clincher.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (28-13), shots on goal (11-9), and penalty corners (18-2) in the thrilling triumph.
THE KEEPERS:
Collins turned away all eight shots she faced while Bowdoin posted nine saves in the difficult setback. SJC freshman Emma Casale (Windham, Maine) and USJ freshman Alyssa Milligan (Cumberland, R.I.) registered a defensive save apiece.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
Saint Joseph's is now 2-0 all-time versus University of Saint Joseph. The Monks topped the Blue Jays by a 3-1 score in Connecticut last fall.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play at Dean College on Tuesday in a GNAC matchup starting at 3:30 PM.