BOSTON, Mass. – The Simmons University field hockey team fell to visiting Saint Joseph's College (Maine), 1-0, this afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action in Brighton, Mass. The Sharks fall to 5-7 overall and 2-2 in league play, while the Monks have won six of their last seven matches and improve to 9-2 and a perfect 3-0.

Saint Joseph's dominated offensive possession with a 19-1 shot advantage, including 12-0 in the first half. The visitors also held a 10-1 margin on penalty corners. The Monks one-goal output marks just the third time this season that SJC has scored one or fewer goals in a match. 

First year forward Alexa Gutowski (Conway, N.H.) scored the lone goal of the day to give Saint Joseph's the win.

The Monks scored the only marker of the match when sophomore midfielder Olivia Esposito (North Reading, Mass.) sent a cross from the left side of the cage to Gutowski, who was camped in the right post for a one-timer and her sixth goal of the season with 4:42 left to play in the second quarter. 

Simmons looked to tie the match late in the fourth quarter when the Sharks were awarded a penalty corner with under four minutes to play. First year Maddie Beckwith (Winslow, Maine) put a shot on frame during the corner, but the Saint Joseph's keeper turned the attempt away. 

The Monks were in the hunt for a goal early in the second quarter with three shots in a span of 26 seconds, but all three attempts were turned away by Simmons junior goalie Lucy McNamara (Brewster, Mass.), who stopped the first nine shots she faced in the match. McNamara finished the day with 14 saves, while junior keeper Alexandria Simpson (Pascoag, R.I.) made one save to earn her first collegiate shutout. 

The Sharks return to action on Tuesday, October 8 when they host Mount Holyoke College on Daly Field at 4:00 p.m., while Saint Joseph's hosts GNAC rival Rivier University on October 12 at 11:00 a.m.