STANDISH, Maine – Senior Melanie Allen (Jackson, N.H.) scored in the 41st minute to lead the St. Joseph's College Monks to a 1-0 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a non-conference field hockey game Thursday afternoon at Mercy Field in Standish, Maine.

            With the win, St. Joseph's improves to 5-1 on the season and earns just its second victory over USM in 17 games.  The loss is the third straight for the Huskies who fall to 4-4. 

            Allen scored off of a Theresa Hendrix (Scarborough, Maine/Cheverus) assist to propel the Monks to victory.  Both teams had chances throughout the game; however, the Monks would be the only team to break through into the scoring column after they were awarded a penalty corner at the 40:22 mark.  Senior Elizabeth Anderson (Cumberland, Maine) inserted the ball to Hendrix.  Hendrix played the ball around the USM defense and threaded a pass to Allen for the game-winner.

            Monk senior goalkeeper Taylor Allison (Pawtucket, R.I.) made five saves to notch her fourth shutout in six starts while her counterpart, USM junior Kayla Kennedy (Windham, Maine) stopped five of the six shots she faced in a losing effort.

The Monks held a 9-8 edge in shots and a commanding 19-9 lead in penalty corners on the afternoon.

Both teams face conference opponents in New Hampshire this Saturday, as Saint Joseph's takes on New England College in Henniker in a 1:00 p.m. start and Southern Maine battles Keene State College at 1:30 p.m.

–cac–