MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore Meagan Halligan (No. Branford, Conn.) registered a goal and an assist, while senior Elizabeth Sears (Danvers, Mass.) handed out a pair of helpers, as the Saint Anselm College field hockey team dispatched 10th-ranked Bentley University, 3-1, Wednesday evening in its regular-season home finale at Grappone Stadium on Senior Night.
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| Largest Senior Night Entourage. Ever. |
The Hawks improve to 5-9 on the season, including 3-5 in Northeast-10 play, while the Falcons drop to 9-6, 3-4 NE-10.
Saint Anselm jumped on the board 7:45 into the contest when it capitalized on a penalty corner. Halligan initiated the sequence with an insert from the left side that was settled by Sears at the top of the circle. Sears then slid the ball to her right for junior Bridget Davis (Mansfield, Mass.), who unleashed a rocket that beat Bentley goalkeeper Katie Kelley into the left side.
The Hawks doubled their lead 4:16 later when Sears collected a rebound in front off a shot from senior Nicole Foley (Falmouth, Maine) and dished the ball to her left where Halligan put it inside the left post.
Bentley cut its deficit in half midway through the stanza when Gina Lirange received a feed from Meghan Talerman on the right and put it past freshman goalkeeper Katherine Sears (Northboro, Mass.) to make it 2-1.
The game stayed that way into the second half until sophomore Nicole Rugan (Chelsea, Maine) picked up her own rebound in the middle of the circle and pushed it past Kelley for her first career goal that made it 3-1 with 16:56 remaining.
Sears made four saves, while Kelley stopped nine shots.
Saint Anselm outshot Bentley, 18-8, and held an 11-9 advantage in penalty corners.
Seniors Sears, Foley and Eliza Jalbert (Providence, R.I.) were honored in a ceremony prior to the start of the contest.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Oct. 26 at noon when they take on Long Island University-LIU Post in non-conference action. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter @STAHawks.
