Monday, October 8, 2012 (Standish, Maine) - The Mount Ida College women's soccer team played to a 2-2 stalemate with hosting St. Joseph's College (ME) in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action Monday afternoon in Standish, Maine on Columbus Day.
Although the Mustangs held a 2-1 into the 87th minute of play in the second half, Monk sophomore forward Danielle Daigle (Dayton, ME) netted the game-tying goal late to stymie the contest an eventually end in a draw.
St. Joe's, who controlled the game statistically in most facets except for the scoreboard for the ladder part of the contst, struck first on a Megen Pollini (Wolfeboro, NH) goal in the 20th minute, but the Mustangs countered with a Briana Tomaselli (Warwick, RI/Pilgrim) score less than four minutes later and took the lead when Alison Koning (Carlisle, MA/Concord-Carlisle) scored 3:20 into the second stanza. With the game-clock dwindling, Daigle finished a Lizzie Calnan (Westport, MA.) cross with a header to knot the match at two-apiece with just 2:45 remaining in regulation.
The best scoring opportunity over 20 minutes of extra play occurred at the 108:16 mark when Daigle broke free and streaked towards the right post, but Mount Ida keeper Samantha Basler (Plymouth, MA/Plymouth North) left her feet to snare Daigle's close-range shot and preserve the tie.
Pollini's goal, her second of the season, was intended to be a pass, but the kick – taken from the right side from about 25 yards out - sailed high and into the top left corner of the net to lift the hosts to a 1-0 edge 19:43 into play.
Both of the Mount Ida markers were the result of defensive breakdowns by the Monks. The Mustangs got on the board at the 23:22 mark when Tomaselli sprang free on a long breakaway and beat Lorenzen with a kick to the left corner to make it a 1-1 contest. The visitors would take the lead 25 minutes later when Koning, hugging the right post, deflected a cross by Isabelle Moody (Naugatuck, CT/Naugatuck) into the right corner.
Despite numerous scoring chances by the Monks, nearly 40 minutes of scoreless play ensued as the hosts' opportunities proved fruitless until Calnan set up Daigle's tying goal with a beautiful cross pass. Hustling down the right side of the field, Calnan outworked a Mount Ida defender to possess the ball and quickly booted the sphere into the box to Daigle, who one-timed a header into the top right corner past a diving Basler to tie the game and force overtime.
Basler tallied 12 stops in the conference deadlock for the Mustangs while SJC junior netminder Jaci Lorenzen (Windham, ME) made eight saves while Saint Joseph's held sizeable advantages in shots (31-11), shots on goal (15-10) and corner kicks (12-0) and was slapped with six fouls while Mount Ida was flagged on five occasions.
With the result, Saint Joseph's is now 5-0-1 in the history of the series with Mount Ida College. For the Mustangs, today's scoring output is the most the side has scored in a contest versus St. Joe's.
Mount Ida will play at Nichols College in a non-conference tilt slated to start at 3:30 PM on Thursday.
Some Content Courtesy of St. Joseph's College (ME) Sports Information