KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Saint Anselm College field hockey team received goals from four different scorers and received a 12-save performance from sophomore goalkeeper Katherine Sears (Northboro, Mass.) as it posted a 4-3 season-opening win against Kutztown University on Saturday afternoon at University Field.
The Hawks begin the season 1-0 for the second straight year, while the Golden Bears fall to 0-1.
"We played hard and smart for 70 minutes," said head coach Carolyn King. "Kutztown was a very good team and they weren't going to back down, but we kept our composure and finished strong. It was a terrific team win."
Senior captain Bridget Davis (Mansfield, Mass.) was the Hawks' first goal scorer of 2014, wasting just 38 seconds before putting a penalty stroke past Kutztown goalkeeper Chardonnay Hope that staked Saint Anselm to a 1-0 lead.
The Golden Bears' Micaela Beaty then used an unassisted tally to equalize the score early in the ninth minute, but junior Colleen Sears (Danvers, Mass.) notched her first of the year off a feed from freshman Emma Kincaid (W. Bridgewater, Mass.) to put the Hawks back on top late in the 13th minute.
Saint Anselm made it a two-score game at the 27:29 mark when freshman Zoe Griffin (Duxbury, Mass.) set up a score by sophomore Kelsey Leblanc (Londonderry, N.H.) that nudged the lead to 3-1. Just 30 seconds later, however, Skyler Oates capped the first-half scoring and sent the hosts into the break trailing by just one.
Just under three minutes into the second stanza, though, the junior connection of Canada Stewart (Derry, N.H.) and Meagan Halligan (No. Branford, Conn.) hooked up to re-establish the Hawks' two-goal lead, with Stewart beating goalkeeper Kayla Denlinger to make it 4-2.
Anna Brehm tacked on a goal to cut the deficit to one in the 60th minute, but junior Nicole Rugan (Chelsea, Maine), sophomore Elizabeth Alie (Franklin, Mass.) and freshman Erin Collins (Auburn, Mass.) made a trio of defensive saves over the final seven minutes and Sears turned away a penalty stroke in the 64th minute to preserve the victory.
Kutztown held advantages in both shots (24-9) and penalty corners (10-3) despite coming out on the losing end.
Hope made two saves on the three shots she faced over 35 minutes, Rachael Sanders allowed a goal on the only shot that came her way in 16:27 of action and Denlinger was tagged with the loss after relinquishing goals on both shots she saw in 18:33.
The Hawks return to action Sunday, Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. when they take on Mercy College. The Hawks open up their home slate Saturday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. when they play host to Merrimack 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 liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter @STAHawks.
