Manchester, N.H. (October 23) -- On Senior Day
on Saturday afternoon, the Saint Anselm field hockey team dropped a
hard-fought 2-1 overtime final to No. 6 ranked Stonehill in
Northeast-10 play. Prior to today's match-up, the seniors from both
Saint Anselm and Stonehill were honored for their contributions to
their teams during their careers. The pregame festivities set the
stage for an inspired performance as the Hawks looked to knock off
the first-place Skyhawks.
The Hawk defense proved to be up for the challenge in today's
match-up, keeping Stonehill off the scoreboard until almost 30
minutes into the first half. It was junior Kathryn
Nelson (Shrewsbury, Mass.) who broke that scoring drought
as she capitalized on a pass from fellow junior Laura Menke
(Greenland, N.H.) for the 1-0 Skyhawk lead.
The Hawks offense remained quiet for the remainder of the first
half, tallying just three shots in the period. However it
wasn't far into the second half that senior captain Sara Griffin
(Derry, N.H.) barreled through the Skyhawk defense and
fired a shot to on senior goalie Courtney Osier (South
Dennis, Mass.). Sophomore Hawk forward Kristina Katsikis
(Hanover, Mass.) patiently waited at the post, where she
redirected Griffin's bullet to tie the game with just about 20
minutes to go in regulation.
Both defenses held the game to a tie after regulation, forcing
15 minutes of sudden-death overtime. Both teams were energetic in
the 7 vs. 7 overtime period and had opportunities throughout the
period. Stonehill's Nelson broke the silence once again though,
scoring the game-winner at 4:55 into overtime on a feed from senior
captain Lindsey Pinkham (Skowhegan, Maine). With a
pair of goals today, Nelson bumped up her season stats, now
registering 15 goals on the season.
Hawks sophomore goalie Megan Sullivan
(Braintree, Mass.) had 17 saves in the contest, pushing
her season total past the century mark to 112 saves in 619 minutes
in net this year.
With the loss, Saint Anselm falls to 2-10 overall, while
Stonehill improves to 11-4 overall, and retains its hold on the
number one spot in the NE-10 at 7-0 on the season. Saint Anselm
returns to action next Saturday afternoon, traveling to American
International College for a Noon start against the Yellow
Jackets.
