STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (4-9-4, 4-6-3 GNAC) defeated New England College (6-8-2, 1-7-2 GNAC), 5-2, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's soccer action Wednesday evening at the SJC Athletics Complex.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the victory—and Dean College's loss to Lasell University earlier in the evening—the Monks clinched the No. 8 seed in the GNAC Tournament. Saint Joseph's will travel to top-seeded Lasell for a conference quarterfinal Saturday at 12:00 PM.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Sophomore Annika Kurotori (San Jose, Calif.) opened the scoring at 10:12 off an assist from sophomore Grace Wesbrock (Rockport, Maine).
The Monks extended their lead with two goals just 23 seconds apart late in the opening half. Freshman Annalise Stimmell (Sanford, Maine) scored at 29:55 off a feed from senior Jordan Huntley (Stafford Springs, Conn.), and freshman Abigail Kajunski (Hanover, Mass.) followed at 30:18, assisted by sophomore Kya Duprey (Sanford, Maine).
Saint Joseph's carried the 3-0 advantage into halftime after outshooting the Pilgrims, 18-3, in the opening period.
Stimmell added her second goal at 62:02, with Kurotori and senior Bridget Davis (Scarborough, Maine) collecting assists. New England College answered with unassisted goals from Ava Hudson at 64:00 and Julianna Barrett at 88:58 before sophomore Natalie Young (Rochester, N.H.) capped the scoring with 11 seconds remaining off a Davis assist.
Stimmell finished with two goals, Kurotori contributed a goal and an assist, and Davis delivered two assists.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held the advantage in shots (32-14), shots on goal (18-10), and corner kicks (6-2). Stimmell and Davis led the Monks with seven shots apiece, while Kajunski placed all four of her attempts on target.
THE KEEPERS:
Junior Ashlyn Guerette (Merrimack, N.H.) made six saves, all in the second half, to earn the victory. The Monks also received two team saves.
New England College goalkeeper Estrella Michaelidis recorded 13 saves in 90 minutes.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
Saint Joseph's improved to 8-1 all-time against New England College with its fourth consecutive victory in the series. The Monks remain unbeaten against the Pilgrims in Standish with a 4-0 record.
NEXT!
Eighth-seeded Saint Joseph's faces top-seeded Lasell University in a GNAC Tournament quarterfinal Saturday, October 31, at 12:00 PM in Newton, Mass.
