RINDGE, N.H. – Senior Meagan Halligan (No. Branford, Conn.) notched a pair of goals to power the 10th-ranked Saint Anselm College field hockey team to Tuesday evening's 3-2 victory against Franklin Pierce at Sodexo Field.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
- Halligan's two goals give her the team lead in points with 24 on the year.
- Senior Taylor Coons (Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass.) also scored for the Hawks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Halligan staked Saint Anselm to a 1-0 lead just 2:02 into the contest when she put home a rebound at the right post.
- The game remained that way through the first half of play until Coons picked up her own rebound and beat Franklin Pierce goalkeeper Meaghan Williams to make it 2-0 just 1:22 into the second stanza.
- The Ravens halved their deficit in the 45th minute on an Erin Smith drive from the top of the circle off a penalty corner.
- The Hawks regained their two-goal lead late in the 56th minute when Halligan found the back of the cage off a feed from junior Rose Mooney (No. Attleborough, Mass.) to stretch the lead to 3-1.
- Franklin Pierce again made it a one-goal game on a Kenady Kelly strike with 3:44 to play, but the Hawks would hold off the hosts for the win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Junior goalkeeper Katherine Sears (Northboro, Mass.) turned away six shots, while Williams stopped five shots for the Ravens.
- Franklin Pierce outshot Saint Anselm, 14-10, and held an 8-6 advantage in corners.
NOTES
- The Hawks, who already clinched their first Northeast-10 Championship berth since 2007 with a win Saturday at Southern Connecticut State University, assure themselves a seed no worse than No. 5 with the triumph over Franklin Pierce. A Stonehill College loss to Pace University on Friday, coupled with a Saint Anselm win against Merrimack College on Saturday, could place the Hawks as high as the third seed.
- Saint Anselm improves to 14-3 on the season, extending the single-season program record for wins. The Hawks have also now won eight of their last 10.
- Halligan's two goals move her past classmate Colleen Sears (Danvers, Mass.) and into third place on the program's all-time points list and also place her fourth all-time in goals.
- After going four games without a point from Sept. 23-Oct. 4, Halligan has racked up 15 points in her last eight games dating back to Oct. 7.
UP NEXT
- Saint Anselm wraps up the regular season Saturday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m. when it plays host to Merrimack College in a meeting that will have huge seeding implications at Grappone Stadium.
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