BEVERLY, Mass. – Endicott College (18-4) scored three first-half goals to defeat Saint Joseph's College (19-2), 3-1, in the first round of the NCAA DIII Field Hockey Tournament on Wednesday evening.

With the win, Endicott advances to the second round of the national tournament and will play at #1 Messiah College on Saturday at 11:00 AM.

For the Monks, the loss signals the end of the one of the finest seasons in program history. The 2018 team set new SJC single-season records for wins, goals (95), assists (76), points (266), shots (487), shutouts (13), and goals-against average (0.66).

The Monks' senior class - comprised of goalkeeper Megan Baker (Gorham, Maine), defenders Meghan Burke (Falmouth, Mass.), Arianna Kahler (Lisbon Falls, Maine) and Kayla Veilleux (Sabattus, Maine), and midfielders Kara Kelly (York, Maine), Kayla Kelly (York, Maine), and Samantha Silva (Laconia, N.H.) - has helped the Royal Blue post a 61-22 (.735) overall record, including a 23-3 (.885) mark in conference play, with three GNAC Championships and a trio of NCAA Tournament appearances over the past four seasons.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Gulls scored on their first shot of the game, when Jaylin Grabau tipped in a pass from Blake Braman just 47 seconds into the contest. Freshman Addi Williams doubled the Endicott lead in the 18th minute and netted her second goal of the night, and 24th of the season, at the 32:29 mark to extend her team's lead to 3-0 heading into halftime.

The Monks finally got on the board three minutes into the second stanza when freshman Emma Rutledge (Alfred, Maine) potted her 18th marker of the season on a tipped pass from Kahler.

St. Joe's had a chance to cut their deficit to one goal five minutes later when they were awarded a penalty stroke, but the attempt by Kahler sailed wide.

Transitioning to defensive lockdown mode, the Gulls held the Monks without a shot in the final 11 minutes.

THE KEEPERS

Baker made eight saves in the setback, including a huge stop on a penalty stroke bid by the Gulls' top scorer, Kristen McCarthy, in the 15th minute while her counterpart, sophomore Taylor Farrin, turned away three of the four shots she faced in the victory.

TEAM STATS

Endicott held the lead in shots (22-10), shots on goal (12-4), and penalty corners (8-7) on the evening.

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