PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The No. 2 seeded Johnson & Wales Field Hockey team defeated the No. 3 seeded. Joseph's (Me.) Monks in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Semifinals 1-0 (OT). The Wildcats will play in the GNAC Championship for the first time in program history.
For the Monks, the loss signals the end of the 2021 campaign and college field hockey for the program's 10 seniors: manager Megan Seymour, Anton, Rutledge, Esposito, Molly Barr (Gorham, Maine), Alexis Beardsley (Livermore, Maine), Morgan Dalton (Livermore Falls, Maine), Emma Dubuc (Burlington, Vt.), Meghan Hill (Brookline, N.H.), and Elly Walker (Scarborough, Maine).
This group of seniors helped Saint Joseph's win a pair of conference titles with two NCAA Tournament berths while posting a 51-11 (.823) overall record, including a 24-2 (.923) mark in GNAC play, since arriving on campus in 2018. Nearly unbeatable in Standish, this impressive class lost just three home games with a .906 (29-3) winning percentage at the SJC Athletics Complex.
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A quiet first quarter ended with the score knotted at 0-0. The lone shot was an attempt by the Monks with a shot on goal from Olivia Esposito that was blocked by Madison Flaxington (Lincoln, R.I.).
Johnson & Wales created two opportunities in the second quarter but was unable to capitalize. Closing out the second frame, the Monks stole the ball in the JWU half and pushed towards net in a 2-on-1 opportunity, but the shot went wide and the game remained scoreless heading into halftime.
The Wildcats created more pressure in the second half, continuing to create opportunities in front of the Monks' net. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Wildcats took a penalty corner through Margaret Johnson (Bear, Del.) who found Jillian Miele (Wilmington, Mass.) at the top of the zone. She passed back to Johnson who fired a shot and forced a sliding save by Kassidy Collins (Gardiner, Maine) in the Monks' net.
Late in the final frame, Johnson drove the ball from midfield into the Monks' half and sent a centering pass to the front of the Monks' net, but JWU was unable to find the final touch, and regulation ended tied scoreless.
In the first overtime period, Miele found herself in front of net on a pass from Katie Sloan (Ellicott City, Md.), but was unable to find the back of the net as Alison Michalik (Rutland, Mass.) made a defensive save for the Monks. With under a minute remaining in the first overtime, Miele drove the ball forward and earned a penalty stroke with an opportunity to send the Wildcats to the championship game. Miele fired into the bottom right corner for the game winning goal.
The Wildcats will travel to New London, New Hampshire on Saturday to take on the Colby-Sawyer Chargers in the GNAC Championship game.
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