October 8, 2011

STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's (8-2, 6-0 NAC) defeated Thomas College (4-9, 2-4 NAC) by a 3-1 margin in a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) field hockey match at Lakeside Field on Saturday afternoon. Monks sophomore forward TJ Cowin (Newry, Maine) netted a pair of goals in the victory.

St. Joe's overcame an early 1-0 deficit as Cowin netted her team-leading 11th marker of the year in the 11th minute to knot the game at one-apiece. The second-year sniper added to her goals tally with the eventual game-winner at the 53:47 mark off a tremendous individual effort. Freshman forward Peyton Dostie (Standish, Maine) provided an insurance score with 11 seconds remaining in the conference contest.

The game did not start well for the Royal Blue as Terriers freshman Brittany Premo (Concord, N.H.) scored a fluke goal to lift her team to a one-goal cushion just 2:06 into play. Premo pushed a shot on goal and the attempt seemed destined to result in a routine save for SJC netminder Meaghan Johnson '12 (Portland, Maine/Cheverus). But the senior keeper tried to one-time Premo's shot with a kick and whiffed, allowing the ball to slowly roll into the cage.

The deficit did not last long, however, as the Monks managed to tie the game less than nine minutes later. A Sarah Bartell '12 (Exeter, N.H.) scoring opportunity was denied by Thomas goalie Sofia Sourgiadakis '14 (Littleton, N.H.), but Cowin collected the rebound and pushed the ball home to make it a 1-1 game.

The deadlock remained until Cowin found the back of the cage again just over 43 minutes later. After a Thomas foul, Renee Leach '12 (Springvale, Maine) quarterbacked a penalty corner attempt for Saint Joseph's. The attempt appeared to be fruitless at first, but Cowin gathered the ball in heavy traffic near the goalmouth, dabbled through several Thomas defenders, and lifted the ball to the right corner of the cage to lift the Monks to their first lead of the game.

The Terriers recorded several scoring chances in the following five minutes but Johnson, determined to make up for a rare mistake, stonewalled the visitors with a trio of big saves.

Dostie's goal came at the 69:49 mark as a result of an odd-man rush. With Thomas pressing offensively, the Monks were able to quickly move upfield after scooping up a turnover as Bartell and Dostie streaked straight up the middle. With no defenders back to help, Sourgiadakis left the cage to challenge Bartell, who tapped the ball to her rookie teammate for an easy empty-net goal.

Johnson made five saves for Saint Joseph's while Sourgiadakis posted six stops in a losing effort for the visitors. Kaylee Heath '15 (Pittston, Maine) added a key defensive save, the first stop of her young career, late in the second half.

Saint Joseph's held advantages in shots (15-9) and penalty corners (16-8) in the victory and improves to 14-9 in the history of the series with Thomas College with the result. The Monks have now defeated the Terriers in six consecutive meetings dating back to the 2007 season.

Saint Joseph's will play at Salem State in a non-conference contest on Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM. Thomas is off until next Saturday when the team hosts NAC-rival Colby-Sawyer College at 11:00 AM.