NEW LONDON, N.H. – Fourth-seeded Saint Joseph's College (10-10) erased a two-goal halftime deficit but fell to top-seeded Colby-Sawyer College (17-2), 3-2, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Field Hockey Tournament semifinal Wednesday evening.

The Monks scored twice in the third quarter to pull even before the Chargers netted the deciding goal in the fourth. The setback ends Saint Joseph's season following its third consecutive GNAC semifinal appearance.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Saint Joseph's generated three penalty corners in the opening six minutes, but Colby-Sawyer struck first when Abby Olden scored an unassisted goal at 9:01. Brooke Farquhar doubled the Chargers' lead at 18:54 off a pass from Jillian Fredette.

Senior goalkeeper Kimberley McLaughlin (Lewiston, Maine) made three second-quarter saves, while junior Zoey Lailer (Limington, Maine) added a defensive save at 20:25 to help keep the Monks within reach heading into halftime.

Saint Joseph's came out of the break with renewed pressure and needed less than two minutes to get on the board. Sophomore Ava Markham (Belfast, Maine) finished a pass from freshman Chloe Masse (Oakland, Maine) at 31:56 to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The Monks completed the comeback less than five minutes later. Following a penalty corner, Lailer scored off a Markham assist at 36:40 to knot the contest at 2-2.

Saint Joseph's continued to threaten, forcing Colby-Sawyer goalkeeper Sophie Krauss to make two saves eight seconds apart in the 40th minute. McLaughlin answered with three stops during the third quarter to help send the teams into the final period tied.

The Chargers regained the lead at 48:28, when Olden scored her second goal of the evening off another Fredette assist following a penalty corner. McLaughlin made four more saves down the stretch to keep the Monks within one, but Saint Joseph's was unable to find the equalizer.

TEAM STATS:

Colby-Sawyer held the advantage in shots (20-7), shots on goal (14-4), and penalty corners (6-5) in the semifinal contest.

THE KEEPERS:

McLaughlin recorded 10 saves over 60 minutes in her final collegiate contest, while Krauss made two stops for the Chargers. Lailer also contributed a defensive save for the Monks.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

Saint Joseph's is now 9-5 all-time against Colby-Sawyer. The Chargers have ended the Monks' postseason run in the GNAC semifinals in consecutive seasons.