PORTLAND, Maine – Sophomore forward Haley DaGraca (Saco, Maine) netted a pair of goals to help #4 Saint Joseph's College (10-6-3, 6-2-3 GNAC) defeat #5 Simmons College (8-8-2, 7-4-0 GNAC), 3-1, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Soccer Tournament Quarterfinal at Deering Memorial Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

THE LEAD

With the match tied 1-1 at the break, DaGraca scored the winner on the Monks' first possession of the second stanza, as the second-year standout found space in the middle of the box and slipped a shot to the lower left corner just 55 seconds into the latter frame.

Junior midfielder Sarah Comtois (Lowell, Mass.) provided an insurance goal in the 70th minute when she controlled the rebound off her first attempt and tapped the ball into the net, accounting for the 3-1 final.

The conference foes swapped scores in the first half, as DaGraca hit pay dirt off an Emily Thornton (Westbrook, Maine) pass in the 19th minute and Simmons sophomore forward Ciara Forde (Quincy, Mass.) knotted the contest off a Rachel Gilbert (Falmouth, Mass.) feed with 1:45 before the break.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's advances in the GNAC Tournament and will play at #1 Lasell College in a conference semifinal Wednesday, start time TBD. The Lasers defeated #8 University of Saint Joseph, 2-0, in other quarterfinal play this afternoon.

For Simmons, the loss signals the end of the 2016 campaign, save for a potential ECAC Tournament berth.

TEAM STATS

The Monks and Sharks played essentially even on the stat sheet, as the hosts held slight advantages in shots (17-15), shots on goal (12-8), and corner kicks (5-4) in the tournament triumph.

THE KEEPERS

Saint Joseph's junior captain Brooke Troup (East Bridgewater, Mass.) stopped seven of the eight shots she faced to pick up the victory while her counterpart, Simmons junior Casey Halle (Watertown, Mass.), registered nine saves in the losing bid.

NOTEWORTHY

• Troup made a big save in the 34th minute when she punched a high shot, off the foot of Simmons junior Liz Donovan (Nashua, N.H.), over the crossbar
• With the Sharks applying plenty of pressure late, junior forward Kashka Gammon (Nashua, N.H.) narrowly missed an open net with a shot just outside the right post as Troup left the goalmouth to challenge
• For the Monks, today's tournament victory snaps a six-game postseason losing streak stretching back to the 2009 campaign
• DaGraca now has 20 goals and 43 total points in 17 games this fall – the second-highest single-season totals in program history
• Today's win is the Monks' 10th this fall and marks the 19th time the team has produced double-digit victories in the 29-year history of the SJC women's soccer program

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 6-5-1 in the history of the series with Simmons College, a team the Monks defeated by a 2-0 score in Standish on September 24th.

#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.