MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Kristina Katsikis (Hanover, Mass.) scored two goals and junior Elizabeth Sears (Danvers, Mass.) handed out a pair of assists as the Saint Anselm field hockey team recorded a 5-2 victory against American International College on Saturday afternoon at Grappone Stadium.
The Hawks grab their first win of the season to improve to 1-3, while the Yellow Jackets remain winless at 0-4. Saint Anselm improves to 11-6 all-time against AIC, but snaps a five-game losing skid against the Yellow Jackets as it captures its first win in the series since a 1-0 victory at home Sept. 1, 2007.
It looked early on like AIC might extend its winning streak against the Hawks as it jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a pair of goals that came off rebounds. Kristen Angeletti knocked home an Erica McLean second chance that caromed off the pads of senior Megan Sullivan (Braintree, Mass.) in the eighth minute before Cheyenne Carden's shot in the 20th minute drew Sullivan out of the cage to make the stop and the rebound deflected to Jenna Masionis, who put it in the open cage.
From there, however, the Hawks would clamp down and turn the game around. Early in the 26th minute, Sears sent a pass along the left end line that Katsikis struck into the cage from right in front to slice the deficit in half.
Saint Anselm would tie it just 33 seconds before the break when Sears received the pass off a corner and sent it to the far post, where junior Eliza Jalbert (Providence, R.I.) tipped it in.
The Hawks kept momentum in the second half, finding the back of the cage in the 51st minute when Katsikis cleaned up the rebound off a shot from sophomore Bridget Davis (Mansfield, Mass.).
Davis then scored a goal of her own in the 60th minute, taking a feed from freshman Richelle Davis (Enfield, Conn.) after a corner and beating AIC goalkeeper Kori Huffman to make it 5-2. The assist marked Davis' first collegiate point.
Freshman Canada Stewart (Derry, N.H.) then added the second goal of her young career with 1:41 to go to put the game out of reach.
Sullivan stopped five shots, while Huffman made eight saves.
The Hawks outshot the Yellow Jackets, 17-8, including 10-1 in the second half.
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 4 p.m. when they travel to take on Assumption College. The next home game for the Hawks is Sunday, Sept. 16 at 11:30 a.m. when they play host to Bellarmine University 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).
