STANDISH, Maine – #2 Saint Joseph's College (15-5) scored three second-half goals to defeat #1 Lasell College (16-4), 3-0, in the 2017 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Field Hockey Championship at Lasell's Grellier Field on Saturday afternoon.

With the triumph, the Monks claim their second GNAC title in as many seasons and earn an automatic berth into the NCAA DIII National Championship Tournament, which begins Wednesday. The complete NCAA bracket will be announced on Monday.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Following a scoreless first half, the Monks got on the board five minutes into the second stanza when sophomore Libby Pomerleau (Limerick, Maine) scored her first of two goals on the afternoon. After eluding a defender, Pomerleau provided her team with a 1-0 edge with a shot to the top right corner.

The score remained intact until the 63rd minute, when junior Kara Kelly (York, Maine) netted her fourth goal of the season with freshman Alexandra Belaire (Greene, Maine) earning credit for the assist.

Applying plenty of pressure late, the Monks tacked on an insurance goal in the 68th minute when Pomerleau potted her second tally, this time off a Maddy Beaulieu (West Gardiner, Maine) feed, with a shot to the bottom left corner.

THE KEEPERS:

SJC junior netminder Megan Baker (Gorham, Maine) tallied two saves to pick up her eighth shutout of the season. Lasell senior goalie Denise Landry (New Milford, Conn.) turned away a pair of shots in a losing effort.

TEAM STATS:

Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (18-10), shots on goal (5-2), and penalty corners (10-6) in the victory.

NOTEWORTHY:

• Pomerleau was selected as the GNAC Tournament Most Valuable Player while seniors Hayley Winslow (Falmouth, Maine) and Elyse Caiazzo (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) and juniors Megan Baker and Arianna Kahler (Lisbon Falls, Maine) earned GNAC All-Tournament honors
• With the triumph, Saint Joseph's improves to 17-4 in the history of the series with Lasell College
• Today's loss was the Lasers' first home setback of the season as Lasell was 10-0 on their home turf going into the title bout
• Prior to this afternoon, Lasell had allowed three goals in a game just once all season – in a 3-1 loss to #12 MIT on September 14th

#GOMONKS

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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.