Comeback Bid Falls Short as Blue Field Hockey Falls at St. Joseph's (Me.), 3-2

STANDISH, Maine -- Saint Joseph's (Me.) held on to take a 3-2 non-conference victory over Wellesley College field hockey on a rainy Monday afternoon at the SJC Sports Complex.

The Monks (2-1 overall) jumped out to a 3-0 first quarter lead only to see the Blue (1-2 overall) fall just short of a comeback bid after scoring a pair of goals in the second half. First year Maya Waryas (Bellows Falls, Vt.) had a goal and an assist to lead Saint Joseph's (Me.). Wellesley got goals from seniors Keller Gardner (Falmouth, Maine) and Lindsay Strong (Concord, Mass.) in the losing effort.

Waryas scored her second goal of the season 5:50 into the first quarter to give the Monks the early advantage. The first year then added an assist on Emilia Galimberti's (Wolfeboro, N.H.) first collegiate goal just under two minutes later to give Saint Joseph's (Me.) a 2-0 lead. The Monks grabbed a 3-0 advantage before the end of the first quarter when senior Molly McCluskey (Orono, Maine) set-up classmate Alexa Gutowski (North Conway, N.H.) at 12:17 following a Monks' penalty corner opportunity.

Saint Joseph's (Me.) outshot the Blue 10-7 through the opening 30 minutes and took the 3-0 edge into the locker room at halftime. However, Wellesley countered with a strong third quarter, outshooting the Monks 6-0 to get back in the game.

Gardner cut the Blue deficit to two 7:28 into the second half, scoring her second of the season on an unassisted effort to make the score 3-1. Less than two minutes later, Strong made the score 3-2 following a flurry of action around the St. Joseph's (Me.) goal after Camille Newman's (Manhattan, N.Y.) initial attempt on a Wellesley corner was denied.

Wellesley managed four shots and successfully defended four St. Joseph's corners in the final quarter but the Blue were unable to find the equalizing goal. Wellesley finished with a 17-15 advantage in shots. Blue goalkeeper Kyra Deehr-Lewis (Newtown, Pa.) made seven saves in the setback (1-2 overall). Kassidy Collins (Gardiner, Maine) turned back six shots to earn the win (2-1 overall) for the Monks.

The Blue will return home to host Tufts in non-conference action on Thursday evening at 6:00 PM. St. Joseph's (Me.) will host Rivier next Sunday at 11:00 AM.