STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (2-0) defeated University of Southern Maine (0-2), 13-5, in a non-conference women's lacrosse contest at the SJC Athletics Complex on Wednesday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
St. Joe's opened the game with three goals in the opening five minutes, as Bridget Collins (Milford, Conn.), Teegan Gilreath (Lowell, Mass.), and Brianna Paul (Brattleboro, Vt.), but USM closed the gap with tallies from Rachel Shanks (Naples, Maine) and Paige Rinaldi (Freeport, Maine) to make it a 3-2 game.
Graduate Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine) scored off a Shauna Clark (Oakland, Maine) pass with 1:31 left in the first frame and junior Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine) found the back of the net twice in the second stanza to lift the Royal Blue to a 6-2 lead heading into intermission.
The Monks completed the third period with a 10-4 cushion after Battaglia netted a pair and Dexter and Paul tacked on a goal apiece. Cierra Hill (Pembroke, N.H.) scored both of the Huskies' third-quarter tallies.
Four goals were scored in the fourth frame with three being scored by the hosts, as Paul, Clark and Battaglia offset an Emily Cloutier (Brunswick, Maine) strike for the Huskies and accounted for the 13-5 final.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (31-10), shots on goal (25-6), ground balls (23-17), draw controls (12-10), and caused turnovers (13-7) in the victory.
THE KEEPERS:
SJC sophomore Morgan Wright (Chelmsford, Mass.) made one save in the complete-game victory while USM sophomore Lydia Laslavic (Thomaston, Maine) turned away 12 shots in a losing effort.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Battaglia netted five goals with four ground balls, three draw controls, and a pair of caused turnovers
- Dexter tallied two goals, five assists, three ground balls, and a pair of draw controls
- Paul added three goals and a pair of assists
- Clark contributed a goal and an assist with three ground balls, three draw controls, and a pair of caused turnovers
- Junior Madison Scott (Cumberland, Maine) picked up six ground balls with four caused turnovers
- Junior Heather Rohr (Merrimack, N.H.) added four draw controls
LEADERS – SOUTHERN MAINE:
- Hill scored twice with four ground balls
- Cloutier tacked on a goal and an assist
- Julia McKenna (Windham, Maine) added four draw controls
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 6-7 all-time versus Southern Maine and has now defeated the Huskies in six-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2015 campaign.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host Bates College on Sunday at 1:00 PM.
