PORTLAND, Maine—Junior Emily Allcroft (Haydenville, Mass.) scored in the 32nd minute and that is all Gordon Field Hockey would need to pull off a non-conference victory at Saint Joseph's on Wednesday evening. Allcroft took the team lead with her fourth goal of the season and Gordon's timely defense held firm to send the Scots over .500 on the year entering Commonwealth Coast Conference play.
The Fighting Scots improve to 3-2 on the season heading into conference action as Gordon hosts Salve Regina in the CCC opener on Saturday at the Brigham Athletic Complex.
The Monks held a firm advantage in shots for the game, 13-4, but Gordon's defensive unit had a stellar showing all night. Goalkeeper Shannon Hicks (Scarborough, Maine) pitched her second straight shutout and moved into first in the CCC in goals-against average with a 1.53 mark through five games.
However, it was defender Bailey Balmer (Perkasie, Pa.) who might have had the biggest stop of the night for the Fighting Scots. SJC's Kelsey Dumond had a prime look at the net in the 14th minute, but Balmer turned her away just before the goal line to keep the game scoreless.
The Monks put two more shots on frame before Gordon could manage another opportunity, but the Scots finally struck gold in the 32nd minute. Sabrina Jandreau (Winslow, Maine) sent a shot that was stopped by Megan Baker, but Jandreau got the ball back and sent it over to Allcroft for the go-ahead strike.
Gordon had a chance to go up by two goals early in the second half when Rosalind Keeley (Winterport, Maine) fired an attempt that beat Baker, but SJC's Arianna Kahler was there to tip it away at the last second.
The Fighting Scots survived five shots and eight penalty corners for the Monks in the second half to keep the shutout intact.
