STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's (3-2-1, 0-2-1 GNAC) and Emerson College (4-1-2, 2-0-2 GNAC) dueled to a 1-1 stalemate in GNAC women's soccer action at Westerlea Way Field on Saturday afternoon.

Trailing 1-0 late in the contest, sophomore forward Danielle Daigle (Dayton, Maine) scored off a Megen Pollini (Wolfeboro, N.H.) corner kick at the 87:03 mark to force overtime. Although both sides would have chances to take the victory during extra play, neither would hit pay dirt as the conference rivals were forced to settle for the tie.

After an uneventful first half and similar start to the second stanza, Emerson kicked off the game scoring in the 62nd minute when Mollie Coyne (Hamilton, N.J.) broke the deadlock off a Riana Odin (Trumbull, Conn.) pass. Odin, taking a free kick from about 40 yards out, booted the ball towards the right side of the net and found her teammate Coyne, who drilled a header into the left corner of the net to make it a 1-0 game in favor of the visitors.

The tempo of the game increased significantly following the Lions' score, as the Monks started to mount a steady flow of offensive pressure in the Emerson defensive zone. Sam Peters (Gorham, Maine) seemed to control the right side of the field and, as a result, had several prime scoring opportunities to no avail.

In a match that featured just six total corner kicks in 110 minutes of play, the Monks were awarded a corner in the 88th minute and Daigle took full advantage when she one-timed a header into the net off Pollini's perfectly placed kick.

Both sides had an opportunity to clinch the win before the regulation buzzer rang. Peters, near the 20, used a slick pass to find Jodi Pollack (Andover, Mass.), who turned the corner around a defender and sailed a shot just beyond the top left corner of the net. Coyne nearly netted the winner in dramatic fashion when she worked her way into daylight inside the box and hurtled a shot on target, but SJC keeper Jaci Lorenzen (Windham, Maine) jumped and batted the ball up over the net to preserve the 1-1 score.

Lorenzen was brilliant in extra play, when she made a pair of saves and left her post with reckless abandon on several occasions to either challenge an Emerson player 1 v 1 or snare an attempted crossing pass.

Although Lorenzen, who made 10 saves in the stalemate, played exceedingly well, much credit should go to the SJC defense as the group – led by senior Casey Monaghan (Portland, Maine) and sophomore Lauren Titus (Arundel, Maine) – time and again was up to the task on jump balls and passing plays out of the defensive end.

Emerson sophomore netminder Allie Altman (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) made six saves for the visitors. The conference counterparts were even in both shots (15-15) and corner kicks (3-3) on the afternoon while the Monks were flagged 18 times compared to just six infractions by the Lions.

With the result, Saint Joseph's is now 4-0-3 in the history of the series with Emerson College. The Monks and Lions have met on consecutive occasions without a victor, as the GNAC rivals squared off in a 0-0 stalemate last season in Boston.

Both programs host GNAC opponents on Tuesday, when Saint Joseph's faces Anna Maria College at 3:30 PM and Emerson takes on Mount Ida College at 6:00 PM.   

Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.