STANDISH, ME – #3 Saint Joseph's College (15-3, 9-2 GNAC) is set to host #6 Suffolk University (6-11, 6-5 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Soccer Tournament Quarterfinal at 2:30 PM on Saturday at Westerlea Way Field.
The last time we met:
Saint Joseph's defeated Suffolk by a 2-1 score at home just over a week ago in a contest that saw sophomore Hannah LeBlanc (Andover, Mass.) and freshman Desiree Parent (Westborough, Mass.) score for the Monks. LeBlanc scored just 1:54 after the opening whistle and Parent beat Suffolk netminder Melissa Brouillette (Shelton, Conn.) off a Lauren Chouinard (Gorham, Maine) feed in the 38th minute to propel the hosts to a 2-0 lead. Senior Taylor Miranda (Smithtown, N.Y.) potted the Rams' only marker four minutes later, with Gabrielle Balestrier (Mohnton, Pa.) earning the assist, to account for the 2-1 final.
St. Joe's senior goalkeeper Jaci Lorenzen (Windham, Maine) posted nine saves while Brouillette recorded seven stops in a losing bid for the Rams. The Monks held a 23-14 shots advantage and a 9-7 edge in corner kicks that afternoon.
What have you done lately?
The Monks finalized the regular season with a 1-0 victory over University of Southern Maine on Wednesday. Parent, who has scored all five of her goals this fall in the last six matches, netted the game-winner off an Ashley Beaulieu (Durham, Maine) pass in the 74th minute. Lorenzen made seven saves to record her ninth shutout of the year and 27th of her career.
Home-field advantage could be a major factor in the tourney tilt, as the Monks own a perfect 8-0 record at Westerlea Way Field this fall and have not suffered a setback on their home turf since October 3rd, 2012. This season, Saint Joseph's has outscored opponents by a 24-4 margin at home. A win on Saturday would not only provide the Royal Blue with their first postseason victory since 2009, but would also place the 2013 side in a tie with the 2007 club for most single-season victories in program history.
Suffolk ended a four-game losing skid by pummeling Mount Ida College, 5-1, on the road on Saturday. It has been mostly feast or famine on the offensive front this fall for the Rams, who have outscored opponents by a 20-3 score in victories but been defeated by a 41-6 margin, collectively, in defeat during the 2013 campaign.
Historically speaking:
Saint Joseph's has enjoyed success versus Suffolk with a 6-1 record in the history of the series with the Rams. The Monks have scored at least six goals in three of the meetings while the Rams' only victory in the seven-game matchup came in 2010 when Suffolk blasted St. Joe's by a 6-2 margin in Boston.
Who to watch:
It will be difficult for the Rams to pinpoint a single player to stop on the Monks' attack. Eight different Saint Joseph's players have netted three goals or more this season, a group led by junior Danielle Daigle (Dayton, Maine), who has six goals and 15 total points this fall. Chouinard, Parent and LeBlanc have scored five goals apiece while senior Jessica Capozzi (Saugus, Mass.) has four markers and Kim Jordan (Bangor, Maine), Sam Peters (Gorham, Maine) and Jodi Pollack (Andover, Mass.) each have three tallies to their credit this season.
Lorenzen, a two-time All-GNAC selection and four-year starter, has posted career-bests in nearly every statistical category during her senior season. She sports a 0.85 goals against average and nine shutouts with an .874 save percentage and 104 saves in 1597 minutes in net and the two-year team captain looks to lead her team to the GNAC Semifinals for the first time since 2009.
One of the top offensive threats in the conference, Miranda is easily the Rams' top offensive weapon. The senior has 12 goals and 27 total points and accounts for nearly half of her team's goals output (26) this fall. No other Suffolk player has more than four markers or nine total points.
