MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Megan Sullivan (Braintree, Mass.) stopped 16 shots and sophomore Bridget Davis (Mansfield, Mass.) recorded her second career goal, but the Saint Anselm College field hockey team was handed a 6-1 loss by second-ranked Bloomsburg University its season opener Sunday afternoon at Grappone Stadium.
The Hawks begin the year 0-1, while the Huskies remain perfect at 3-0.
The two teams battled to a scoreless tie at the end of the first half, with Sullivan keeping the Hawks in the contest. Despite being battered with shots, Sullivan thwarted all 11 chances, including a spectacular diving stop in the 14th minute. Jenna DiSabatino sent a pass from the left endline to Brooke Simonovich, who was stationed directly in front of the net. Simonovich looked to have the first goal of the afternoon, but Sullivan slid to her left to make a pad save and deny the shot.
The Huskies did finally break through just 1:23 into the second half when DiSabatino cleaned up a loose ball off a corner. After the ball was struck at the top of the circle, it banged off multiple players in front of the cage before squirting out to the left, where DiSabatino collected it and put it into open left side of the cage to make it 1-0.
Bloomsburg would double its lead in the 46th minute when DiSabatino's drive from the left side off a corner was tipped past Sullivan by Simonovich.
The Hawks jumped on the board in the 54th minute when a scrum in front, off a corner, produced a loose ball that wound up on the stick of freshman Channing Hodgkins (Cumberland, Maine), who fed Davis to her left. Davis snapped a quick shot that got by Bloomsburg goalkeeper Megan Eppley to slice the deficit in half. It was Hodgkins' first collegiate point.
From there, however, the Huskies would pot four goals in a span of eight-plus minutes to put the game away. Simonovich struck again in the 60th minute when she collected a rebound on the left side, off a shot from Brittany Mathews, and put it past a diving Sullivan to give her team its two-goal lead back.
Cassie DiSabatino made it 4-1 in the 62nd minute when she initiated the sequence by starting the penalty corner and then received the ball back from Amber Aulenback and found the back of the net.
Jenna DiSabatino scored her third of the game in the 67th minute when she flipped the ball up and over the head of Sullivan from just inside the top of the circle.
Simonovich then captured the hat trick with 1:57 remaining when she picked up a loose ball in front and struck it past Sullivan to make it 6-1.
Bloomsburg outshot Saint Anselm, 26-2, including 11-0 in the opening half. The Huskies also held a 22-3 edge in penalty corners, including 10-0 in the first half.
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, Sept. 4 at 4 p.m. when they play host to Bentley University in a non-conference matchup 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).
