BOSTON, Mass. – Simmons Field Hockey fought hard in the second half to erase a three goal deficit but it was not enough as the Saint Joseph's College (Maine) Monks defeated the Sharks 3-2 in NAC conference play Saturday morning at The Winsor School fields.

The Monks found the back of the net twice on goals by defender Brittany Locke (Waterville, Maine) who came up to the offensive zone during penalty corner action. Locke drilled the ball past Simmons goalie Renna Smith (Belfast, Maine) twice to give the Monks the lead and end the first half.

The fast paced play continued in the second half with even ball movement and quality shots by both teams. Monks defender Renee Leach (Springvale, Maine) tipped in a shot by Melanie Allen (Jackson, N.H.) to increase the Monk's lead to three. Simmons called a timeout and came out with a new fire, scoring in the 59th minute on reverse stick sweep by senior Katelyn Tighe (Easton, Mass.).

The Sharks continued their offensive drive and scored on another reverse stick sweep by Tighe that went high above both teams to the top left corner of the goal. The Monks did not let up and continued to pressure the Sharks defense as time elapsed. Senior Sasha Reilly (Wilmington, Mass.) picked up a defensive save and anchored the defense along with Seneaca Martensson (East Longmeadow, Mass.). The Sharks fall to 0-1 in NAC Conference play with the loss.

Simmons returns to action tomorrow, hosting Wheaton College at 1:00 p.m., while the Monks host Southern Maine on September 22nd, at 3:30 p.m.