MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Kristina Katsikis (Hanover, Mass.) buried her first goal of 2012, but the Saint Anselm College field hockey team dropped a 3-1 non-conference decision to 10th-ranked Bentley University on a rainy Tuesday afternoon at Grappone Stadium.
The Hawks fall to 0-2 on the young season, having lost to a pair of nationally-ranked teams, while the Falcons improve to 2-1.
Bentley jumped on the board right at the end of the 15th minute when Kaitlyn Marcinek's drive from just inside the left side of the circle skipped past senior goalkeeper Megan Sullivan (Braintree, Mass.) and into the left side of the net.
The Hawks evened it just 54 seconds later at the 15:52 mark when junior Elizabeth Sears (Danvers, Mass.) sent a pass from the left side, to Katsikis, who was stationed about five yards in front of the cage. Katsikis beat Bentley goalkeeper Julia Powell for the program-leading 22nd goal of her career to knot it at one.
The game stayed that way until the 47th minute as Meghan Talerman went 1-on-1 down the left side with a Saint Anselm defender. Sullivan came out to stop the ball, but Talerman stuck with it by the left post and slipped a shot in between Sullivan and the post to give the Falcons a 2-1 edge.
Bentley then put it away with 1:40 to go when Kelsey Howard fed a pass from the right endline to the far post, where Beth Maguire batted the ball into the cage to give the Falcons a three-goal cushion.
Sullivan stopped a pair of shots, while Powell made four saves.
Shots were even at eight apiece, with the Hawks outshooting Bentley, 7-1, in the first half and the Falcons returning the favor in the second.
The Hawks return to action Thursday, Sept. 6 at 6 p.m. when they hit the road for the first time this season to take on Stonehill College in non-conference action. The next home game for the Hawks will be Saturday, Sept. 8 at noon when they play host to American International College 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).
