ECAC Quarterfinals --- #4 St. Joeseph's (ME) 2, #5 Worcester State 0
Standish, ME --- St. Joe's (15-5, 5-1 NAC) used two second-half goals to defeat Worcester State (11-10, 6-5 LEC) in an ECAC Tournament Quarterfinal match-up on Wednesday afternoon at Lakeside Field. Courtney Rague (Old Orchard Beach, ME) netted the game-winning goal in the 53rd minute for the Lady Monks.
Saint Joseph's, the #4 seed in the seven-team tourney, will travel to Beverly, MA on Saturday to square off against top-seeded Endicott College (16-5, 8-0 TCCC), game time TBD. With the loss, #5 seed Worcester State's season comes to a close.
In a first half dominated by midfield jockeying, the Lancers notched the first scoring opportunity when Ginelle Blais (Marlboro, MA) steered a shot on net that was turned away by a Meaghan Johnson (Portland, ME) kick save at close range.
Fifteen minutes later, Lady Monks leading scorer Kayla Nowell (Bridgton, ME), sprung on a short breakaway by a Rague pass, just missed the left corner of the net with a quick wrist shot.
Alyssa Dunn (Standish, ME) blasted a shot from the top of the circle with thirty seconds remaining in the first that sailed wide to cap the SJC scoring opportunities in the half.
The scoreless opening stanza yielded nine total shots - seven by the host and a pair by the visitors.
The St. Joe's offense came to life in the second half, outshooting Worcester 15-1 with 12 of those shots finding Lancers keeper Erin MacDonald (Dedham, MA).
Nowell notched another outstanding scoring opportunity eight minutes into the second period, only to be turned away by MacDonald, who preserved her shutout with a point blank save.
The Lady Monks finally solved the WSC keeper, who came into the contest with the ninth-best save percentage (.853) in the country, in the 53rd minute to take a 1-0 lead. Sarah Bartell (Exeter, NH) broke free on the right side from the Worcester State defenders and MacDonald, who came out of net to challenge, dove at Bartell's feet. The freshman maintained possession and proceeded to pass to the wide-open Rague, who sent the ball into the open net to provide the home team with a one-goal advantage.
St. Joe's continued to pepper the WSC net with shots and Nowell, who recorded seven shots on goal in the win, scored her team-high 21st goal of the year to give the Lady Monks some breathing room. After a scramble in front of MacDonald, the sophomore standout uncovered the ball and flipped it into the net from close range to extend the Royal Blue lead to 2-0 and cap the game scoring.
Overall, Saint Joseph's outshot Worcester State 22-3 and held a 17-4 advantage in penalty corners. Johnson made three saves in goal to add to her program-record total of shutouts in a season, which now stands at five. Erin MacDonald was solid in net, making 16 stops for the visitors in the loss.
Release Courtesy of St. Joeseph's Sports Information