STANDISH, ME – Senior forward Jessica Needham (East Bridgewater, MA) tied a career high with six points and Mikayla Call '11 (Portland, ME/McAuley) added a goal and an assist as Saint Joseph's (1-0) defeated Thomas College (0-1) by a 7-0 margin on Saturday afternoon at Westerlea Way Field.
Needham played a hand in four of the Monks' first five markers with two goals and two assists and three freshmen registered their first collegiate goal in the victory. Ashley Beaulieu '14 (Durham, ME), Emily Cocciardi '14 (Middleton, MA) and Cassie Diplock '14 (Augusta, ME) all scored in the laugher, while rookie netminder Jacqueline Lorenzen (Windham, ME) required just one save to notch her first NCAA shutout.
Also, Casey Monaghan '13 (Portland, ME/Portland) recorded her first NCAA point – an assist - with a long pass that set up Needham's second goal of the game in the 32nd minute.
Katherine Chambers '13 (Hampden, ME) also scored for St. Joe's, while Jessica Boynton '13 (Saco, ME) got into the action with an assist on Needham's first goal in the 18th minute of play.
St. Joe's controlled play wire to wire, as the hosts held commanding advantages in shots (34-1), shots on goal (22-1) and corners (10-4) in the victory.
Terriers keeper Kate Thibodeau '14 (Woolwich, ME) made 15 saves in the losing effort.
Needham first tallied six points with three goals in a 3-2 victory over Norwich on October 10th, 2009, while today's two-assist effort is the fifth of her career. For Call, the three-point performance gives her 90 total points in her career. With 35 goals and 20 assists, she is just the fifth player in program history to reach 90 points and the sixth to record at least 20 assists.
The seven-goal total is the most for the Monks since the Royal Blue defeated Pine Manor College by a 9-2 margin on October 20th, 2007 at Westerlea Way Field. The team's record for scoring in a season-opener is eight goals, as the Monks blanked Thomas 8-0 to start the 2005 season. The most goals St. Joe's scored last fall came in a 4-3 win over Southern Maine on October 28th.
Saint Joseph's will host University of Maine-Farmington on Thursday at 4:00 PM, while Thomas is set to play at University of Maine-Presque Isle on Wednesday at 3:00 PM.
