STANDISH, ME – Simmons Soccer (2-3, 1-1 GNAC) defeated Saint Joseph's College (3-1, 0-1 GNAC), 1-0, in the Monks' 2012 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener at Westerlea Way Field on Saturday afternoon. SJC netminder Jaci Lorenzen (Windham, Maine) recorded nine saves in the hard-fought loss.

The visiting Sharks broke a scoreless tie in the 52nd minute of play when junior Desh Perera (Reading, Mass.), who sprinted past several St. Joe's defenders to collect a high-bouncing clearing kick off the foot of Simmons keeper Briana Hayes (Manorville, N.Y.) near midfield, broke free on a breakaway to net the game's only goal.

Simmons, which lost to reigning GNAC Champion Lasell College by a 2-1 margin on Wednesday, held advantages in shots (25-12) and corner kicks (7-4) in today's match.

Sophomore Lauren Titus (Arundel, Maine) paced the Monks with three shots while freshman Megen Pollini (Wolfeboro, N.H.) attempted two shots in a losing effort. Hayes made five saves to collect the shutout for the visitors.

With the result, Saint Joseph's falls to 3-3-1 in the history of the series with Simmons College. The Monks snapped a three-game winless streak versus the Sharks last fall with a 3-0 victory over Simmons in Boston on September 28th.

Both teams return to the pitch to face GNAC opponents on Wednesday, when Saint Joseph's travels to Saint Joseph University (CT) for a 4:00 PM kick-off and Simmons hosts Suffolk University at 7:00 PM.