Monks' Duel with Wildcats Ends in 2-2 Deadlock

Jaci Lorenzen '14
Jaci Lorenzen '14

STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's College (5-4-3, 4-3-3 GNAC) played to a 2-2 tie with conference-rival Johnson & Wales University (7-4-2, 6-1-2 GNAC) in a women's soccer match at Westerlea Way Field on Monday afternoon. Monks goalkeeper Jaci Lorenzen '14 (Windham, Maine) made a career-high 12 saves in the stalemate.

SJC freshman forward Danielle Daigle (Dayton, Maine) scored off a header on a corner kick with classmate Catherine Murch (West Baldwin, Maine) notching an assist at the 21:24 mark. The 1-0 edge stood until JWU senior Berkeley Cecchini-Bond (Uncasville, Conn.) belted a shot past Lorenzen off a free kick 49 seconds into the second half. Kayla Sypek '15 (Westhampton, Mass.) was credited with an assist on the game-tying goal.

Junior forward Katherine Chambers (Hampden, Maine) netted the go-ahead goal – a boot to the bottom right corner, taken from inside the 18 – in the 78th minute. The lead did not last long, however, as the Wildcats tied the match once again just over two minutes later. Katlyn Gerrish '12 (North Stonington, Conn.) set up the score with a chip pass into the box and Sypek finished the play with her fifth goal of the season.

The Wildcats, currently the #2 team in the conference, closed out the contest with a flurry of scoring chances as the visitors tallied seven shots in the final eight minutes of regulation. Lorenzen proved up to the task with four saves during the JWU offensive press.

Johnson & Wales forward Amanda Aguiar '12 (Fall River, Mass.) came within mere inches of netting the winner when the senior clanged a shot off the left post 6:27 into extra play.

Monks sophomore Jessica Capozzi (Saugus, Mass.) registered a scoring chance with 1:38 remaining in the second overtime period, but JWU netminder Alexis Babineau '14 (Leicester, Mass.) made the stop to preserve the tie.

The Wildcats held a whopping 25-8 advantage in shots and both teams attempted five corners in the conference standoff. Babineau made five saves for the visitors.

Saint Joseph's is now 1-2-3 in the history of the series with Johnson & Wales. The Wildcats walloped the Monks by a 6-1 margin in the last meeting between the sides, which took place in Providence on October 24th, 2010.

Eighth-year Head Coach Michael Bolanz '00 now has 14 ties during his tenure with Saint Joseph's, the most in SJC athletics history. Coach Bolanz has 11 deadlocks as the women's skipper and notched three in two seasons as the men's clipboard carrier.

Saint Joseph's will play at Lasell College (11-2, 10-0 GNAC), the current conference leaders and winners of 10 straight, on Saturday in a GNAC tilt slated to begin at 12:00 PM. Johnson & Wales plays at Rhode Island College for a non-conference game at 6:00 PM on Thursday.