BOSTON, Mass. – Junior forward Cierra Martin (Rock Tavern, N.Y.) scored the lone goal for the Simmons University women's soccer team in a 4-1 loss to visiting Saint Joseph's College (Maine) in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play this afternoon at Daly Field in Brighton, Mass. The Sharks fall to 0-7-1 overall, including 0-4-0 in league play, while the Monks win their fifth in their last six matches to improve to 6-2-1 and 3-1-0.
Saint Joseph's controlled possession for most of the match, holding a 22-7 shot advantage, including 9-0 in the second half. The Monks also owned a 5-4 margin in corner kicks.
Junior midfielder McKenzie Murphy (West Baldwin, Maine) netted a career-high two goals to lead Saint Joseph's.
Saint Joseph's scored twice in a five-minute span late in the opening half to take a 2-0 lead. Murphy put the Monks on the board when she collected the ball inside the box and scored with a quick shot to beat the Simmons keeper with 10:09 to play in the half. First year midfielder Samantha Colatruglio (Mahopac, N.Y.) increased the visitors lead with her first collegiate marker coming in the 40th minute of play. The Sharks keeper came off her line to intercept a cross, but was unable to retain possession and Colatruglio corralled the ball before putting it into the right side of an open net for a 2-0 lead.
Simmons cut the deficit in half in the final minute of the half when Martin beat the Monks keeper to the ball and took a quick shot that was stopped, but collected the rebound and put the ball in the back of the net for her first tally of the year with 42 ticks left in the half. The score remained 2-1 at the intermission.
The Sharks held Saint Joseph's scoreless for the first 22 minutes of the second stanza, before sophomore midfielder Ashley Emery (Madison, Maine) found first year forward Madison Michaud (Presque Isle, Maine) for her third goal of the season at 67:07. Emery sent a thru-ball into the middle of the box, where Michaud connected for her third goal of the season to give the Monks a 3-1 advantage. Murphy capped the day's scoring with her second marker of the match when first year midfielder Nikki Sheehan (Medway, Mass.) notched her first career point with a feed from the right side into the box for a 4-1 score in the 86th minute.
Simmons threatened to score a pair of goals early in the first half, but were unable to find the back of the net. The Sharks were awarded a penalty kick 4:03 into the contest, but first year back Riley Wasiuk (Rutland, Mass.) was denied on a low shot to the right post by a diving Adia Grogan (Kennebunk, Maine). Simmons looked to test the sophomore again, just over eight minutes later, when she came off her line to leave the left side of the net exposed, but junior midfielder Nell Spencer's (Buxton, Maine) shot went wide left.
Grogan earned the victory for the Monks with a pair of saves, while first year goalie Melanie Colman (Holliston, Mass.) turned away nine shots for Simmons.
The Sharks return to action on Wednesday, October 2 when they host GNAC rival Regis College (Mass.) at 3:30 p.m. on Daly Field, while Saint Joseph's travels to Waterville, Maine on October 3 to take on Thomas College at 7:00 p.m.