NCAA W. SOCCER: DaGraca’s Overtime Goal Pushes Monks Past Blue Jays, 1-0‏

STANDISH, Maine – Freshman forward Haley DaGraca (Saco, Maine) scored in the 98th minute to propel Saint Joseph’s College (4-5-0, 2-1-0 GNAC) past University of Saint Joseph (3-5-0, 1-2-0 GNAC), 1-0, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women’s soccer match at Westerlea Way Field on Saturday afternoon.
 

THE LEAD 

DaGraca provided the Monks with the thrilling walk-off victory after receiving a lead pass from junior Desiree Parent (Westborough, Mass.) and eluding a defender on the right side of the box. With only USJ keeper Melissa Dodge (Watertown, Conn.) to beat, the first-year standout slipped an odd-angle shot into the left corner with 2:59 remaining in the first overtime period.
For DaGraca, the goal counted as her sixth of the season and first game-winner of her NCAA career.
 

NOTABLES
Senior forward Hannah LeBlanc (Andover, Mass.) paced the Royal Blue with six shots, including four on goal, in the victory.
 

For the Blue Jays, Sara Barnick (Watertown, Conn.), Nicole Aquillo (Hebron, Conn.) and Emily Burke (Windsor Locks, Conn.) recorded three shots apiece on the afternoon.
 

THE KEEPERS
Saint Joseph’s sophomore goalkeeper Brooke Troup (East Bridgewater, Mass.) made six saves to post her second shutout of the season and sixth of her career. Aside from the saves, Troup made several key plays while leaving the net to challenge USJ players in 1v1 situations.
Dodge registered six stops for the visitors.
 

TEAM TOTALS
The conference counterparts played nearly even, with University of Saint Joseph owning a slight lead in shots (17-14) and corner kicks (6-5) in a losing bid. The Monks were flagged for eight fouls while the Blue Jays were slapped with five infractions.
 

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the win, Saint Joseph’s improves to 5-3-2 in the history of the series with University of Saint Joseph, a team that toppled the Monks by a 6-0 score – the largest losing deficit versus a GNAC team since joining the conference in 2007 – in Connecticut last fall.
Today’s triumph also counts as the Monks first overtime win since October 19th, 2013 when SJC slipped past Simmons, 1-0, in Boston.
 

NEXT!
Saint Joseph’s travels to Waterville, Maine on Monday for a 7:00 PM kick-off versus Thomas College (4-3-0, 1-0-0 NAC). Saint Joseph's defeated Thomas by a 1-0 score in Standish last season and is 34-6 in the history of the series with the Terriers, a team the Monks have defeated in 19-straight meetings dating back to the 1997 campaign.