MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College field hockey team suffered a 3-0 loss to Bellarmine University on Sunday afternoon at Grappone Stadium.
The Hawks drop to 2-5 on the season, while the Knights improve to 4-3.
Bellarmine drew first blood late in the 13th minute when a scrum in front of the cage prevented Saint Anselm from clearing the ball out. The ball finally ricocheted out to the left, where Brittany Raque was perched all alone and easily finished the play with the entire left side of the cage vacant.
Saint Anselm nearly answered with just over four minutes left, but could not take advantage of a 2-on-1 breakaway. Junior Elizabeth Sears (Danvers, Mass.) began the break on the right, getting around a defender and dishing to senior Kristina Katsikis (Hanover, Mass.) in the middle of the field. Bellarmine goalkeeper Paris Bryant had come way out and Katsikis had a clear look at the cage, but she was tripped up as she shot and the ball rolled just wide of the right post.
The Knights made that hurt as they doubled their lead with just 1:02 left in the opening half. The Hawks could not clear the zone after a Bellarmine penalty corner and Rachel McAllister ended up with the ball near the left post. She made a pass to the middle for Ashton Lichvar, who wacked the ball into the middle of the cage to make it 2-0.
Bellarmine added to its lead just under three minutes into the second half when Alexis Van Wallaghen received a feed from Meghan Williams and beat senior goalkeeper Megan Sullivan (Braintree, Mass.) to make it 3-0.
Saint Anselm had more chances late in the 59th minute, including one near the left post when junior Eliza Jalbert (Providence, R.I.) received the ball, but her rushed shot went wide.
Sullivan did not make a save in 40:15 of action, while freshman Shauna Whittemore (Bennington, N.H.) stopped both shots she faced in her first 29:45 of collegiate play. Bryant made four saves in the shutout effort for the Knights.
Shots were even at seven apiece for the game, four apiece in the first half and three apiece in the second. Bellarmine held a 16-11 advantage in penalty corners, including 9-4 in the opening frame.
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 4 p.m. when they open their Northeast-10 slate by playing host to Saint Michael's College at Grappone Stadium. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by friending us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/STAHawks) and following us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/STAHawks).
