PORTLAND, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (4-1, 1-0 GNAC) kicked off Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play with a convincing 21-2 victory over University of Saint Joseph (0-1, 0-1 GNAC) at Deering Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Junior attack Mary Leasure (South Portland, Maine/McAuley) tallied two goals, seven assists and nine ground balls in the lopsided triumph.
As the score indicates, the Monks dominated from the beginning and scored 19 goals before the Blue Jays managed to get on the board with less than 12 minutes left in the conference contest.
In the end, 10 different players scored at least one goal with senior Lizzie Calnan (Westport, Mass.) and junior Kat Gadbois (Scarborough, Maine) netting a game-high four goals apiece on the afternoon. Freshman attack Elyse Caiazzo (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) registered three goals, two assists, eight ground balls, five draw controls and three caused turnovers and junior Elizabeth Elcock (Westwood, Mass.) added two goals and an assist in the win.
Sophomore midfielder Jackie Wilson (Tiverton, R.I.) chipped in with a goal and three assists along with five ground balls and six draw controls while sophomore attack Kelsey Dumond (Lewiston, Maine) potted a pair and junior defender Meghan Williams (Greenland, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas) netted her third goal of the young season.
Freshmen Courtney Trufant (South Portland, Maine) and Carly Chasse (Windham, Maine) both netted their first collegiate goals in the victory. Junior goalkeeper Michelle Cunha (Enfield, Conn.) made five saves on the afternoon.
Leasure, who tied the Monks' single-game assists record today, also contributed a game-high nine ground balls in the win.
Junior attack Rachel Foster (Newington, Conn.) scored both of the Blue Jays' goals while goalkeeper Emily Bourassa (Bristol, Conn.) recorded 17 saves in the losing effort.
Saint Joseph's set a new program single-game record with 52 shots, a mark that surpassed the 47-shot effort versus the Blue Jays on April 4th, 2009. Today's goal tally is the second-most in program history and the Royal Blue posted the second-highest point output (34) and third-highest assist total (13) in the victory.
With the win, Saint Joseph's is now 8-0 all-time versus University of Saint Joseph, a team the Monks defeated by a 17-9 score last spring.
On Wednesday, Saint Joseph's travels to Emmanuel College for a rematch of the 2014 GNAC Championship in a conference contest slated to begin at 7:00 PM.
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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.
