Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content
Shelby Dunn

PREVIEW: No. 8 field hockey welcomes Saint Michael's to campus

9/22/2021 10:30:00 AM

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College field hockey team will host Saint Michael's College on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

No. 8 SAINT ANSELM COLLEGE HAWKS (3-2, 1-1 NE10)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2021 Statistics | News

SAINT MICHAEL'S COLLEGE PURPLE KNIGHTS (2-4, 1-2 NE10)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2021 Statistics | News

Saint Anselm is looking to snap its first two-game losing streak since the 2018 season on Wednesday, welcoming in a Saint Michael's outfit that has already played three nationally-ranked opponents to date. The Purple Knights picked up a win over No. 9 Southern New Hampshire on Sept. 8, their first win over a nationally-ranked opponent since 2015.

Three of the next four games for Saint Anselm will be played at Grappone Stadium with the lone road contest to be played at Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday, Sept. 25.

SCOUTING SAINT ANSELM

  • Last time out, the Hawks came out on the losing end of a 2-1 decision against the Warriors of East Stroudsburg University on Sunday.
  • Ranked No. 3 at the time, Saint Anselm lost two consecutive games for the first time since November 2018, dropping to 3-2 following the non-league contest. East Stroudsburg was the winner of five consecutive games, entering play as the No. 7 team in the nation.
  • The contest against East Stroudsburg was a re-match of the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championship semifinals game that was won, 1-0, by Saint Anselm via an overtime penalty stroke. Fast forward to Sunday, it was East Stroudsburg who used a fourth-quarter penalty stroke to push past Saint Anselm in the non-conference showdown.
  • Sophomore Mackenzie McConnell (Concord Township, Maine) ranks third in the NE10 with a 0.97 goals-against average. She has conceded just three goals on the season and posted a two-save shutout on Sept. 11 against Pace, recording a 1-0 victory in overtime.
  • Junior Maeve Murphy (Scituate, Mass.) leads the team with two goals and two assists for six points (2-2=6) and has fired a team-best 15 shots. 
  • As a team, the Hawks have generated 2.40 assists per game which ranks fifth in the league. The Hawks also rank in the top-10 nationally in points per game (8.0), scoring average (2.74) and scoring margin (1.37).

PREVIEWING THE PURPLE KNIGHTS

  • Saint Michael's owns a 2-4 record entering play on Wednesday. The Purple Knights opened the season at the Dr. Art DeGenaro Classic, taking on the hosts from Mansfield and Kutztown – Saint Michael's was outscored 16-to-2 in the opening two games.
  • The Purple Knights rebounded to defeat Southern New Hampshire at Penmen Stadium on Sept. 8, defeating the ninth-ranked Penmen by a 5-2 score. Saint Michael's later lost to New Haven before picking up a convincing 5-0 win over Franklin Pierce on Sept. 14.
  • Last time out, the Purple Knights were tripped up by Assumption, 7-2. Bridgie Loughlin pocketed two goals in the game with Jenna Puleo assisting both markers – Maci Leali recorded a defensive save in the process.
  • Versus the Greyhounds, netminder Riley O'Connor tallied 23 saves which stands as the third-most in a single game in Saint Michael's program history. The 23 stops was the most-ever by a first-year student-athlete in program history and the highest total in a Saint Michael's home contest.
  • Puleo has seven assists so far in 2021, tying for eighth in program history in single-season assists through just six games on the year.
  • Head Coach Carla Hesler enters her 23rd season with the Purple Knights and has won 263 games across her tenures at Colgate, Yale and Saint Michael's. She is in her 34th season as a collegiate head coach.

ALL-TIME vs. SAINT MICHAEL'S

  • The Hawks trail the all-time series with Saint Michael's by a 15-11 margin, but Saint Anselm enjoys an active winning streak of seven games against the Purple Knights.
  • The Purple Knights won all but one of the first 14 match-ups with Saint Anselm, dropping its first-ever game to the Hawks on Sept. 30, 2004. In that contest, Sarah Kane '07 scored a goal for the Hawks just six minutes into the second half, lifting Saint Anselm to a win over then No. 10-ranked Saint Michael's.
  • Saint Anselm is 7-6 in the all-time series in games played at home – since the installation of turf at Grappone Stadium in 2011, the Hawks are undefeated (6-0) against the Purple Knights.
Print Friendly Version