NCAA FIELD HOCKEY: Parent Strikes Late to Lift Monks Past AMCATS, 2-1

STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph’s College (6-1, 3-0 GNAC) defeated Anna Maria College (6-4, 1-1 GNAC), 2-1, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) field hockey contest at Mercy Field on Saturday afternoon.
 

THE LEAD
With the game tied 1-1, Saint Joseph’s freshman forward Michalia Parent (Westborough, Mass.) scored what proved to be the game winner – her third of the young season - in the 55th minute off a perfect left-to-right crossing pass near the goalmouth.
 

SCORING LEDGER
The Monks opened the game scoring in the 13th minute when senior Meghan Williams (Greenland, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas) netted her fourth penalty-stroke goal of the season.
 

The 1-0 edge remained until the 45:57 mark when Anna Maria sophomore forward Nicole Denver (Springfield, Mass.) found the back of the cage on a penalty corner play. Junior Lauren Beauregard (Hubbardston, Mass.) served as the injector and, after a scrum in front of the goal, Denver beat SJC freshman keeper Megan Baker (Gorham, Maine) to knot the game at 1-1. Junior midfielder Kaitlyn Moran (Leicester, Mass.) was credited with an assist on the play.
 

NOTABLES
Parent led the Monks with seven shots, including four on target, while Williams and junior forward Kelsey Dumond (Lewiston, Maine) registered five shots apiece in the GNAC triumph.
 

Anna Maria senior midfielder Kylie Dalbec (Portland, Maine) paced the visitors with three shots, including a pair on goal.
 

THE KEEPERS
Baker was tested early and proved up to the task, improving to 5-0 after making four stops in the victory.
 

AMCATS senior keeper Mary Kate Breen (Londonderry, N.H.) was busy in the losing effort with 12 saves on the afternoon.
 

TEAM TOTALS
Saint Joseph’s held sizeable advantages in shots (22-8) and penalty corners (13-3) in the conference conquest.
 

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the win, Saint Joseph’s improves to 11-4 in the history of the series with Anna Maria College, a team that ended the Monks’ 2014 season with a 1-0 GNAC Tournament Semifinal victory at Mercy Field on November 5th.
 

The Monks also maintain their spotless GNAC regular-season record and improve to 6-0 in one-and-a-half seasons in the conference, which began sponsoring field hockey last fall.
 

NEXT!
Saint Joseph’s travels to #9 Wellesley College (7-0, 2-0 NEWMAC) on Tuesday to face off against the nationally ranked program in a 4:00 PM start. The contest marks the Monks’ first-ever meeting versus Wellesley, a team that has advanced to the third round of the NCAA DIII Tournament in each of the last two seasons.