BOSTON, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College (6-2, 4-0 GNAC) clipped Emmanuel College (6-1, 3-1 GNAC), 13-8, in a contest featuring a pair of previously-unbeaten Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) teams on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Emmanuel held a 3-2 lead after a hard-fought first quarter, but sophomore Shauna Clark (Oakland, Maine) opened the second stanza scoring with a strike off a Mackenzie Siebert (Naples, Maine) pass to tie the game at the period's 11:58 mark.
Graduate attack Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine) netted three of the contest's following four goals to lift the Monks to a 6-4 edge with 9:53 remaining in the third quarter. During the remainder of the penultimate period, junior Bridget Collins (Milford, Conn.) and Siebert found the back of the net to offset a pair of Emmanuel tallies as the Royal Blue held an 8-6 heading into the final frame.
The fourth quarter proved to be the highest scoring segment as the teams combined to net seven goals, with the Monks connecting on five shots in the decisive period. Collins, Siebert, and junior Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine) netted a goal apiece in the first seven minutes of the fourth and Battaglia and Dexter hit pay-dirt in a matter of 45 seconds later in the quarter to give St. Joe's a 13-7 cushion with 4:44 left.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (36-18), shots on goal (24-15), and draw controls (20-5) while Emmanuel posted a 21-18 lead in ground balls with a 21-13 advantage in caused turnovers.
THE KEEPERS:
SJC freshman Alexis Eldridge (Effingham, N.H.) made seven saves with a pair of ground balls while Emmanuel netminder Isabella Thomas turned away 11 shots in a losing effort.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Dexter scored five goals with two assists, three ground balls, and three caused turnovers
- Siebert added three goals and an assist
- Battaglia tallied two goals, two ground balls, 15 draw controls, and five caused turnovers
- Collins netted a pair of goals on four shots
- Clark chipped in with a goal and an assist while picking up two ground balls, two draw controls, and a pair of caused turnovers
- Junior Heather Rohr (Merrimack, N.H.) added five ground balls, three draw controls, and two caused turnovers
LEADERS – EMMANUEL:
- Megan Steele scored two goals with an assist
- Emily Gates added a pair of goals with three draw controls
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 13-2 in the history of the series with Emmanuel College and has now defeated the Saints in nine-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2015 season.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host Rivier University on Wednesday in a conference contest slated to start at 5:00 PM.
