NCAA W. SOCCER: Monks Topple Terriers, 8-1

WATERVILLE, Maine – Saint Joseph’s College (5-5-0, 2-1-0 GNAC) routed Thomas College (4-4-0, 1-0-0 NAC), 8-1, in a non-conference women’s soccer match on Monday night. Freshman forward Colleen Sheehan (Medway, Mass.) scored twice and added an assist in the lopsided victory, which was the Monks’ fourth in the last five games.

THE LEAD
Senior forward Hannah LeBlanc (Andover, Mass.) and freshman forward Haley DaGraca (Saco, Maine) both scored in the opening four minutes of play, but Thomas senior midfielder Bronte Howorth (Austin, Texas) cut the hosts’ deficit in half with her fifth goal of the season in the fifth minute. Sheehan answered the call, potting her two tallies – both off DaGraca passes - in the ensuing 20 minutes to put the Monks up 4-1 heading into intermission.

Saint Joseph’s padded the lead with four second-stanza markers, including a pair of Thomas own-goals, to walk away with the 8-1 triumph.

NOTABLES
Junior Desiree Parent (Westborough, Mass.) and sophomore Sarah Comtois (Lowell, Mass.) both scored in the second half for Saint Joseph’s. For Comtois, the goal – a free kick from the left that sailed beyond the outstretched hands of Terriers keeper Ashley Gooden (Lancaster, N.H.) – was her first of the season and second of her NCAA career.

THE KEEPERS
St. Joe’s senior goalkeeper Michelle Cunha (Enfield, Conn.) made three saves to pick up her second victory of the season.

The Terriers split time in net, with starter Paige Leary (Palermo, Maine) taking the loss after allowing four goals with 10 saves in the first half while Gooden tallied seven stops in the second frame.

TEAM TOTALS
Saint Joseph’s held advantages in both shots (30-9) and corner kicks (7-6) while Thomas was called for seven fouls opposed to four infractions charged to the Monks.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the victory, Saint Joseph’s improves to 35-6 all-time versus Thomas College and has now defeated the Terriers in 20-consecutive meetings dating back to the 1997 season. In 41 meetings between the former conference rivals, the Monks have scored eight or more goals on three occasions. St. Joe’s defeated the Terriers by a 9-0 score on September 28th, 1994 and toppled Thomas, 8-0, on September 7th, 2008.

The Monks nipped the Terriers by a 1-0 margin in Standish last fall. The last time Saint Joseph’s scored at least eight goals: October 14th, 2012 in an 8-0 victory over Maine-Presque Isle.

NEXT!
Saint Joseph’s plays the first of eight-consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) games when the team travels to Paxton, Massachusetts for a 4:00 PM match at Anna Maria College (2-6-1, 0-2-1 GNAC). The Monks are 4-0 in the history of the series with the AMCATS and have outscored their conference counterpart, 23-0, in the four meetings, including a 2-0 win in Standish last season.