GORHAM, ME - Freshman Kelsey Dumond (Lewiston, Maine) redirected a pass from senior back Carly Denis (Lewiston, Maine) in the 11th minute to help lead Saint Joseph's College (6-0, 1-0 NAC) to a 3-0 shutout win over University of Southern Maine (3-6, 0-2 LEC) in a non-conference field hockey game Wednesday at Hannaford Field.

The Monks pressured the Huskies early and often, outshooting USM by a 9-1 margin in the opening half with an identical advantage in penalty corners.  After the Dumond goal, the Monks took a 2-0 lead into the break when sophomore Amanda Celata (Dedham, Mass.) drove in a pass from Rachelle Messuri (Atkinson, N.H.) in the 26th minute.

Messuri scored the Monks' final goal with her team-leading sixth marker of the season in the 40th minute.  Messuri broke away from Southern Maine defense and rocketed in a shot from the top of the circle.

Freshman goalkeeper Emma Astbury (Bridgewater, Vt.) earned the shutout for the Monks making five saves.  Senior goalkeeper Kayla Kennedy (Windham, Maine) took the loss making nine saves.  USM sophomore Jessica Boghosian (Belgrade, Maine) made a defensive save for the Huskies.

St. Joe's finished the game with a 15-6 edge in shots and an 11-3 advantage in penalty corners.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 3-15 in the history of the series with Southern Maine and has now defeated the Huskies in consecutive meetings for the first time in the 18-year history of the matchup. For the Monks, the 6-0 opening to the season ranks as the best start in program history.

Both teams will play host to conference foes on Saturday, as Saint Joseph's faces Rivier University in the Monks' 2013 home-opener at 12:00 PM and Southern Maine takes on Keene State College in a 2:30 PM start.

COURTESY OF USM SPORTS INFORMATION

Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.