MANCHESTER, N.H. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College field hockey team secured a 2-1 victory over visiting Southern New Hampshire University on Tuesday in the Northeast-10 Conference Quarterfinals.
Saint Anselm (14-5), the No. 1 seed in the NE10 postseason, will take on the fourth-seeded Panthers from Adelphi University on Friday, Nov. 18 in the league's semifinals round. The game will be played at Grappone Stadium with the opening touch slated for 4 p.m.
Junior Abbey Bevens (Pelham, N.H.) scored the game-winning goal for the No. 7-ranked Hawks with 1:46 remaining in regulation time, tipping home a powerful blast from the top of the arc by senior Shelby Dunn (Yarmouthport, Mass.).
The strike by Bevens, her fourth goal of the season, capped off a strong stretch of play by the Hawks, who were awarded three consecutive penalty corners after back-to-back saves by the Penmen netminder late in the contest.
SNHU jumped ahead by a 1-0 margin just 4:40 into the second half as Bernardita Diaz de Vivar collected a nice pass from Annemartine Christis and fired home a blast that deflected off the Hawks defense and in.
The Hawks tied the game just 22 seconds later off a goal from Davis, set up nicely by senior Maddison LeBeau (Westbrook, Maine) and senior Maggie Malloy (Canton, Mass.), whose last touch was sent forward to the crease. Davis was able to knock the ball out of mid-air, settle it, and reverse it past the Penmen netminder for her 10th goal of the season.
Malloy built upon her program-record point total this season, ending the game with 45 to her credit off of 19 goals and seven assists (19-7=45).
In the game's 50th minute, the Hawks were awarded a penalty stroke with the score tied at one, but the attempt sailed to the left of the Southern New Hampshire cage.
Mackenzie McConnell (Concord Township, Maine) made four saves on five shots for the Hawks while Emma Peeters denied nine out of the 11 shots sent in on goal by Saint Anselm. Saint Anselm held the 17-8 edge in shots taken and were awarded 12 of the game's 18 penalty corners.
Sophomore Grace Michael (Hampton Falls, N.H.) added a defensive save for the Hawks and Lillian Finley produced one as well for SNHU, who falls to 0-15 all-time against Saint Anselm.
