STANDISH, ME - #2 Saint Joseph's College (15-3, 7-2 NAC) defeated #3 Husson University (10-8, 6-3 NAC), 2-1, in a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Field Hockey Tournament semifinal at Mercy Field on Wednesday afternoon.

After a scoreless first half, the hosts finally hit pay dirt 2:07 into the second stanza when Dumond netted her eighth goal of the year. Awarded a penalty corner, junior Effie Drew served as the injector to the left of the Eagles' cage and flicked the ball in-bounds to senior Theresa Hendrix, who quickly passed to Celata on her right. In space, Celata wound up for a shot that was deflected into the right side of the goal by Dumond, who was stationed near the right goalpost, to put the Monks on the board.

Denis went on to double the hosts' lead at the 55:29 mark when she scored her third goal of the year. The senior potted what proved to be the game-clincher with a booming shot from just inside the circle in the left slot off a short Celata feed.

Trailing 2-0, the Eagles shifted into a new gear and essentially controlled play for the remainder of the tourney tilt. The offensive pressure paid off in the 60th minute, when sophomore Britt Mellor (Belfast, Maine) scored off a Taylor Lovley (Newport, Maine) dish on a penalty corner play. Senior Sabrina Vaillancourt (Newport, Maine) was the injector on the corner and the ball eventually found Lovley on the right side and the freshman steered a hard shot on goal. The ball made its way through traffic and found the stick of Mellor, who was positioned on the left post and tipped what would be the Eagles' lone goal of the afternoon.

With the one-goal deficit back in play, Husson continued to pressure the Monks' defense, but the SJC back line held on, despite the fact that the Eagles attempted five penalty corners in the closing 10 minutes of play.

In goal, Husson sophomore Maicee Gustin (Dexter, Maine) made seven saves in a losing effort while Saint Joseph's netminder Emma Astbury (Bridgewater, Vt.) went without a save to post her 15th win of the year.

Saint Joseph's held a 15-1 lead in shots while Husson posted a 14-6 advantage in penalty corners – including an 11-3 lead in the second half - on the afternoon.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's advances to the NAC Championship game. The Monks will play at top-seeded Castleton State College in the title bout on Saturday at 4:30 PM. The Spartans routed #4 Maine-Farmington, 7-0, in the other NAC tourney semifinal this afternoon to advance to the conference championship. The loss signals the end of the 2013 campaign for Husson University, which defeated Thomas College, 2-1, in a quarterfinal matchup on Saturday to move on to the semifinal round.