MANCHESTER, N.H. – The #6-ranked Saint Anselm College field hockey team scored three unanswered goals to crawl out of an early deficit and defeat #4 Stonehill College, 3-1, on Wednesday night in Northeast-10 Conference action at Grappone Stadium in Manchester, N.H.
Box Score
The Hawks improve to 11-2 overall and 6-1 in the NE-10 and defeat Stonehill for only the second time in program history. The Skyhawks had their four game winning-streak snapped to drop to 9-3 overall and 6-2 in conference games.
Saint Anselm controlled the action early as they took the first seven shots and three penalty corners in the game, but came away empty handed. Stonehill was eventually able to reverse fields and earned a penalty corner in the 15th minute of action.
Alexandra Dillon played the ball into Carly Andersen who moved the ball over to Justine Timmermans. Timmermans played a pass to Kacie Smith and the sophomore took two touches before firing a back-handed shot past the blocker of Saint Anselm's Katherine Sears and into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
The Hawks were able to answer near the end of the first half as they took advantage of a corner of their own. After Erin Collins played the ball in, the ball eventually ended up on the stick of Maddie Bressler, who slipped a pass to Collins on the back post for a wide-open score that knotted the game at 1-1.
Saint Anselm wasted no time pulling ahead early in the second half as Rose Mooney intercepted a pass near midfield and took the ball into the circle. Mooney tried to pass the ball off to Allia Connolly in front, but the ball caromed off of the back of the Stonehill keeper's right pad and into the back of the net for the 2-1 advantage.
The Hawks netted an insurance goal less than seven minutes later as Abby Walker juked her way through the Stonehill defense and into the circle. Walker fired on net through traffic, but the ball crashed off the left post and out to the stick of Maddie Bressler. Bressler took a shot and the rebound came out to Mia Vecchione, who slipped a pass towards the end line to Jamie McNamara. McNamara played an angled shot through the right side that snuck through the nearside post and put Saint Anselm on top 3-1.
Stonehill took a pair of corners with 10 minutes remaining in regulation, but never really threatened as the Hawks kept up the defensive pressure and did not allow a clean look the rest of the game to hang on for the 3-1 victory.
The Hawks held an 19-8 advantage in shots while attempting 14 penalty corners to just five for the Skyhawks. Katherine Sears picked up her 11th win of the season while making a pair of saves, while Sara Freedman suffered the setback despite making eight saves on the night.
Saint Anselm returns to action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to #10 American International College for a 5 p.m. Northeast-10 Conference tilt with the Yellow Jackets.
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, Instagram and Snapchat @STAHawks.
