Saints Stumble in OT Heart-breaker to Saint Joseph's (ME)

STANDISH, Maine – Freshman Alicen Burnham (Monmouth, Maine) scored 5:28 into the first overtime period to lift Saint Joseph's College (9-6-0, 8-2-0 GNAC) past Emmanuel College (4-7-2, 3-5-0 GNAC), 3-2, in a fast-paced Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's soccer match at the SJC Athletics Complex on Wednesday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The game seemed to be at hand early, as the Monks hit pay-dirt twice in the opening eight minutes. At the 5:34 mark, St. Joe's was awarded a free kick about five yards from the top left corner of the box. Senior Eilidh Sidaway (Dedham, Maine) stepped up to take the attempt and delivered with a shot to the lower left corner of the net. Burnham scored her first goal of the night, off a Caitlyn Callahan (Gorham, Maine) pass, in the ninth minute to make it a 2-0 game.

Despite steady pressure being applied by the Saints, the two-goal lead held until the 32nd minute, when Megan McMillen (North Branford, Conn.) clanged a shot off the crossbar and the ball landed on the foot of Addie LeGault (Farmington, Conn.), who tipped a shot into an empty net.

Emmanuel tied the game eight minutes into the second half, when LeGault, SJC keeper Adia Grogan (Kennebunk, Maine), and a Monks defender swarmed a loose ball and got tied up near the top of the box. LeGault managed to shake off both St. Joe's players and knocked the ball into a wide-open goal to knot the contest at 2-2.

Senior midfielder Kayley Mattos (Mahopac, N.Y.) played an excellent game and had several near scoring chances during the remainder of play, but the stalemate would be broken by Burnham, who collected a bouncing left-to-right cross from junior Sama Colatruglio (Mahopac, N.Y.) on the goal line and punched home the winner.

TEAM STATS:

Emmanuel held the lead in shots (15-14) and shots on goal (9-7) while Saint Joseph's posted a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks on the evening.

THE KEEPERS:

Grogan turned away seven of the nine shots she faced in the victory while Emmanuel netminder Lexi Della Rocco (Chester, Conn.) notched four saves in a losing bid.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 7-11-0 all-time versus Emmanuel College and – including a 2-1 GNAC Semifinal win in Boston on November 5th, 2019 – have defeated the Saints in consecutive meetings for the first time since 2006.

UP NEXT:

Saint Joseph's will host Simmons University on Saturday in a GNAC contest slated to begin at 1:00 PM whilw Emmanuel hosts Norwich University the same day at 3:00 PM.

*Release courtesy of SJC Athletic Communications office