Women's Soccer Sees Regular Season End in a Draw

Standish, Maine (10/25/12) – Saint Joseph's and Lasell College dueled to a 1-1 stalemate in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's soccer contest at Westerlea Way Field on Thursday afternoon.The Lasers finished the regular season with an 11-4-1 recocrd overall and a 9-2-1 GNAC record. The Monnks conclude their regular slate at 8-4-4 on the season, and 4-4-4 in GNAC play.

Lasers sophomore Kayla Lynch (Dover, N.H.) put the visitors on the board early when she scored from close proximity off an Arianna DiOrio (Revere, Mass.) pass at the 11:41 mark. The 1-0 advantage remained until Chambers knocked in a cross pass from freshman teammate Hannah Leblanc (Andover, Mass.) with 24:23 remaining in regulation. 

Saint Joseph's appeared to have taken the lead just seven minutes later when junior Emily Cocciardi (Middleton, Mass.) steered a header on target off a well-placed corner kick from Whitney White (Salem, N.H.). Lasell keeper Ashley Parrelli (Marshfield, Mass.) made the save but players in the area argued, to no avail, that she was behind the line. The officials did not agree so play resumed.

Lasell nearly ended the contest 7:18 into the first overtime frame when Jill Greaney (Holyoke, Mass.) sent a high booming kick towards the goal from 30 yards out, but the bid clanged of the crossbar.

Lasell held advantages in shots (14-7) and corner kicks (5-2) while Saint Joseph's was flagged for 12 fouls as opposed to seven infractions handed down to the Lasers.

For the Monks, Jaci Lorenzen (Windham, Maine) made five saves, while Parrelli registered four stops on the afternoon.

With the result, Saint Joseph's is now 5-2-2 in the history of the series with Lasell College. In 2011, the Monks defeated the Lasers, 1-0, during the regular season but in the last meeting between the sides, Lasell bested the Royal Blue by a 5-1 tally in a 2011 GNAC Tournament quarterfinal tilt. The Lasers went on to capture the GNAC Championship last fall.

With the regular season in the books, the Monks and Lasers turn their attention to the GNAC Tournament, which begins with a quarterfinal round this weekend. #8 Saint Joseph's travels to #1 University of Saint Joseph (CT), while #2 Lasell hosts #7 Suffolk University – in a rematch of the 2011 GNAC title bout – with both matches taking place on Sunday afternoon.