NEWTON, Mass. – League-leading Saint Joseph's College (Maine) scored one goal in the each of the last three quarters Saturday afternoon en route to a 3-0 victory over Lasell University in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) field hockey game at Grellier Field.
The Monks (12-3 overall) out-shot the home team 17-3, and went on to remain unbeaten in the GNAC at 5-0 in league play, while Lasell had a four-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 7-8 overall and 4-2 in the GNAC.
After a scoreless first period, the visitors broke through with the first goal of the game as freshman Megan Quirion (Oakland, Maine) redirected a crossing pass from sophomore Megan Hill (Brookline, N.H.) with 4:26 to go in the first half.
The Monks doubled their lead midway through the third period following a penalty corner as junior Alexandra Belaire (Greene, Maine) fired a ball from the left side, and freshman Alexa Gutowski (Conway, N.H.) bunted the loose ball out of midair near the far post into a wide-open goal. Freshman Sophia Jacques (Peru, Maine) closed out the scoring in the final minute of the game, knocking home a rebound from the left side after Lasell reserve goalie Chloe Shugrue (Worcester, Mass.) had made back-to-back saves.
Junior Alexandria Simpson (Pascoag, R.I.) needed to make just three saves, including a diving stop on senior Sam Taylor (Hanover, Mass.) early in the fourth quarter, to post her third shutout for St. Joe's. Lasell starting goalie Sofia Rodriguez (Peabody, Mass.) made five saves before giving way to Shugrue, who finished with three saves in the final four minutes.
The day started out with Lasell recognizing its seven seniors on Senior Day -- Izzy Contois (Conway, Mass.) Grace Duguay (Watertown, Mass.), Mindy Esposito (Sunderland, Mass.), Brooke Landry (New Milford, Conn.), Sarah Rudker (Salem, Conn.), Chloe Shugrue (Worcester, Mass.), and Sam Taylor (Hanover, Mass.).
Lasell is right back in action on Monday, October 21, with a non-conference game at Framingham State University (3:30 p.m.). St. Joe's plays again on Thursday, Oct. 23, in a GNAC contest at Anna Maria College (3:30 p.m.).
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