PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Plymouth State University (2-0) edged Saint Joseph's College (2-1), 11-9, in non-conference women's lacrosse action on Wednesday evening.

Today's setback counts as the Monks' first regular-season loss since April 17th, 2021, when St. Joe's suffered a 12-11 overtime loss at Johnson & Wales University. Saint Joseph's posted a 20-0 record last spring before falling in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Saint Joseph's trailed early but held a 7-5 lead at intermission after Megan Mourmouras (Biddeford, Maine) and Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine) scored in the final three minutes of the second quarter.

The Panthers scored twice while holding the Monks scoreless in the third quarter to knot the game at 7-7 and the teams traded goals during the first 10 minutes of the fourth frame before junior Megan Gaspa (Laconia, N.H.) and sophomore Julia Donovan (Antrim, N.H.) netted the winner and the insurance tallies at the 3:18 and 2:00 mark, respectively.

TEAM STATS:

Plymouth State held the lead in shots (31-29), shots on goal (22-14), and draw controls (16-8) while Saint Joseph's notched a 30-22 advantage in ground balls and a 13-9 lead in caused turnovers on the afternoon.

THE KEEPERS:

SJC sophomore Morgan Wright (Chelmsford, Mass.) allowed five goals and made two saves in the first half and freshman Alexis Eldridge (Effingham, N.H.) took the loss after steering away nine shots with six goals allowed in the second stanza.

Plymouth State sophomore netminder Margie Black (Longmeadow, Mass.) allowed nine goals and posted five saves to improve to 2-0 on the season.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Dexter scored five goals on 11 shots with two ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers
• Mourmouras added a goal with two assists, two ground balls, and four draw controls
• Sophomore Shauna Clark (Oakland, Maine) scored a goal with a game-high five ground balls
• Junior Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine) tacked on a goal with four ground balls

LEADERS – PLYMOUTH STATE:

• Donovan netted three goals with an assist on six shots, all on goal
• Senior Amelia Thomas (Hopkinton, N.H.) scored twice with a pair of ground balls
• Sophomore Jenna Stowell (Londonderry, N.H.) tallied a goal with two assists, nine draw controls, three ground balls, and three caused turnovers

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

Today's meeting was the first-ever between the Monks' and Panthers' women's lacrosse programs.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's kicks off Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Saturday with a 3:00 PM game at Norwich University.

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