STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (3-0) fought past University of Southern Maine (1-2), 11-7, in a non-conference women's lacrosse contest at the SJC Athletics Complex on Thursday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The in state rivals essentially swapped scores for the entire first half as goals from Elyse Caiazzo (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) and Kayla Kelly (York, Maine) late in the frame helped lift the Monks to a 6-5 heading into halftime.
Saint Joseph's held an 8-6 lead 10 minutes into the second stanza, but the Huskies killed off a man-up situation for the Monks and the player whistled for the yellow card, sophomore Taylor Colangelo (Windham, Maine), left the box and almost immediately scored, bringing her team back within one strike with 15:27 left.
Momentum seemed to have swung in the Huskies' favor, but the Monks – unfazed by recent events – went on to net three unanswered goals, as sophomore Madison Beaulieu (West Gardiner, Maine) and Kayla and Kara Kelly all hit pay dirt in the final 11 minutes to help the hosts remain undefeated.
THE KEEPERS:
Sophomore Kaylin Mansir (West Gardiner, Maine) and senior Emma Astbury (Bridgewater, Vt.) shared time in goal for the Monks, making a total of six saves in the victory. Astbury started and posted four stops in 17:26 minutes while Mansir turned away a pair of shots in 42:34 between the pipes.
Southern Maine junior keeper Hala Van Nostrand (Granby, Conn.) made nine saves in a losing effort.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held a lead in shots (28-23) and ground balls (30-15) while both teams corralled 10 draw controls on the evening.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Kayla Kelly netted six goals with nine ground balls and three caused turnovers
- Kara Kelly scored two goals with an assist and four ground balls
- Caiazzo chipped in with a goal and an assist and added four draw controls
- Junior Brittany Arsenault (Westbrook, Maine) notched a game-high five draw controls
- Freshman Josie Ring (Newfield, Maine) added three ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers
LEADERS – SOUTHERN MAINE:
- Junior Aliza Jordan (Gorham, Maine) posted two goals with an assist, four ground balls, four draw controls, and three caused turnovers
- Freshman Alex Farley (Buxton, Maine) scored a pair of goals
- Sophomore Allison Irish (Lyman, Maine) netted a pair of goals
- Freshman Morgan Eliasen (Lewiston, Maine) contributed four draw controls and a pair of ground balls
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 4-7 all-time versus University of Southern Maine and has now defeated the Huskies in four-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2015 campaign.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's opens up conference play with a home game versus Simmons College on Tuesday at 4:00 PM. Southern Maine hosts Colby-Sawyer College Sunday at 1:00 PM.
#GOMONKS
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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 474-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.
