Eagles Claw Wesley Wolverines for 5-2 Victory

Patchogue, N.Y. - The St. Joseph's Golden Eagles (2-1) dominated Wesley College (1 1-3) of Delaware, 5-2, outshooting the Wolverines by 35-12 on a cold and blustery Sunday afternoon.

Unfortunately, many of the Golden Eagles offensive efforts were thwarted by the excellent goalkeeper play of Wesley's Alyssa Batty, missing numerous opportunities to score more goals and settling for the thin margin of victory.  After last year's 8-7 defeat down in Delaware, the victory was certainly a rewarding one for SJC.

For the second straight game, the St. Joseph's defense was spectacular, holding Wesley to a single goal until the last two minutes of the game. It all started with goalkeeper Erin O'Connor who registered six saves and sophomore Nicole Lyman had a season-high six caused turnovers, six ground balls and four draw controls.

Freshman Kristine Minogue helped to lead the transition game, clearing the ball in transition and getting it up field quickly, and veterans Megan Lapham and Amanda D'Onofrio anchored the crease defense. D'Onofrio registered five ground balls and three caused turnovers, while Lapham had two caused turnovers of her own on the day. Gabby Bourguignon was again all over the field acting as the primary chaser.  She harassed Wesley relentlessly all game.

Wesley opened the scoring with 13:18 left in the first half on an unassisted goal by Rylee Gould. The Golden Eagles answered back a minute and forty-five seconds later on a pass from Heather Ferchland to Jackie Myers. Karalyn Tetelman gave St. Joseph's their first lead of the game with 5:15 left in the first half on an unassisted goal putting the ball in the corner of the net.

The Golden Eagles struck just twenty-five seconds into the second half as Caitlynn Webber won the draw and drove the length of the field for a 3-1 lead.  Fifteen minutes later, the Golden Eagles took a commanding 5 - 1 lead with two goals in a span of 1:24. Tetelman fed Cait Halloran for a pretty goal at 14:25 and Lisa Olen scored unassisted at 13:01.

Wesley's Jen Jacobs ended the scoring on a pass from Jordan Lutz with 1:58 left in the game. The Wolverines' Alyssa Batty had a great game in goal, registering 21 saves on the day.

Five different Golden Eagles each scored a goal - Cait Halloran, Cait Webber, Karalyn Tetelman, Lisa Olen, and Jackie Myers. Tetelman and Ferchland registered the only assists of the day for the Golden Eagles, who continue to show improvement from last season.

In 2012, St. Joseph's lost their first four games as a new program, taking a while to get comfortable with each other and participating in real contests. This year the team is playing with more poise and competes hard right from the start of games due to an experienced corps of returnees from last year, and ten new faces.

Next up for St. Joseph's is Western Connecticut, who won last year's meeting 11 - 5. The game is scheduled for Wednesday, March 6 at 4 p.m. at Danzi Stadium.