STANDISH, Maine – Sophomore forward Libby Pomerleau (Limerick, Maine) netted two goals with an assist to help #2 Saint Joseph's College (14-5) topple #3 Simmons College (12-7), 5-0, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Semifinal at the SJC Athletics Complex on Wednesday afternoon.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's advances to the GNAC Championship game for the third-consecutive season and will attempt to repeat as conference champs when they play at top-seeded Lasell College in the title bout on Saturday at 12:00 PM. Lasell edged #5 Mount Ida College, 1-0, in overtime in other semifinal action this afternoon.
The Monks defeated the Sharks, 1-0, in the 2016 GNAC Championship to earn the program's first conference crown.
With the loss, Simmons – winners of two of the last three GNAC titles - bows out of the tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks applied plenty of offensive pressure from the get-go and capitalized on the effort when Pomerleau scored her first goal on a deflection off an Arianna Kahler (Lisbon Falls, Maine) shot at the 14:23 mark. The sophomore standout doubled the hosts' advantage 89 seconds later on another tipped Kahler shot.
Juniors Kara and Kayla Kelly (York, Maine) connected in the 34th minute, when Kara scored off a right-to-left pass in the goalmouth.
The 3-0 cushion remained until the 59:05 mark, when senior Hayley Winslow (Falmouth, Maine) potted her sixth goal of the year with Pomerleau earning the assist. Kayla Kelly capped the game-scoring in the 63rd minute with an unassisted strike.
THE KEEPERS:
Saint Joseph's junior Megan Baker (Gorham, Maine) picked up her seventh shutout of the season after making one save over 70 minutes while her counterpart, Simmons freshman Lucy McNamara (Brewster, Mass.), posted 16 saves in the losing effort.
St. Joe's junior Meghan Burke (Falmouth, Mass.) and Simmons freshman Abigail Anderson (South Yarmouth, Mass.) posted a defensive save apiece in the semifinal contest.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's posted considerable advantages in shots (25-4), shots on goal (22-2), and penalty corners (17-5) on the afternoon.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 18-8 in the history of the series with Simmons College and has now defeated the Sharks in four-consecutive meetings. Today's five-goal winning margin is the most recorded by either team in the matchup since the Monks topped the Sharks by the same score on October 25th, 2008.
#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.
