Sept. 28, 2011

Box Score

The fourth-ranked River Hawk field hockey team dropped Saint Anselm, 6-3, in Manchester, NH on Wednesday evening. Five different players scored in the win, including a pair of goals by Rachel McCarthy (Reading, Mass.).

The River Hawks (9-1, 3-0 Northeast-10) are the first team this season to score more than three goals when playing at the Hawks' Grappone Stadium. With the victory, the club extended its overall winning streak to nine games and its winning streak against conference opponents to 29. Saint Anselm falls to 2-7 on the campaign and 0-3 in conference play.

UMass Lowell got the offense going early as the reigning NE-10 Player of the Week, McCarthy, scored on a penalty stroke for her league-best 13th goal of the season at 3:53 into play. McCarthy is five-for-five on penalty strokes this season.

The River Hawks expanded its lead to two in the 17th minute on a tally by Emily Painten (Walpole, Mass.). Goalkeeper Megan Sullivan (Braintree, Mass.) turned away Abby Auld's (Waltham, Mass.) shot, but Painten cleaned up the rebound for her third goal of the year.

The momentum kept building as the River Hawks hung another tally on the scoreboard at the 25 minute mark. On a penalty corner play, Auld knocked in a pass from McCarthy for her fourth goal of the season to push the score to 3-0.

Saint Anselm pulled the game back within two in the 27th minute on a penalty stroke of its own. Kristina Katsikis (Hanover, Mass.) converted her first penalty stroke attempt of the season for her eighth goal of the campaign.

It didn't take UMass Lowell long to respond, resuming a three-goal lead with just over a minute remaining in the first half. Ali Ferraro (Kingston, N.Y.) delivered a penalty corner and the Hawks' Sullivan saved shots by McCarthy and Sarah Wilcox (Old Town, Maine), but senior defender Kayla Littig (Carver, Mass.) rattled home a third attempt at 33:44.

By halftime, the River Hawks had outshot Saint Anselm, 20-3, and out-cornered the Hawks, 10-0.

Saint Anselm came out firing in the second half, scoring in the first four minutes. Nicole Guimond (Fairfield, Maine) executed a corner play to close the gap to 4-2 for her first score of the year.

UMass Lowell responded quickly once more with a goal at 40:03. On a pass from Painten, Melissa Effertz (Oceanside, Calif.) scored her seventh goal of the year.

Each team found the net one more time in the final three minutes of play, on goals by McCarthy and Katsikis, to settle the final score at 6-3.

For the match, the River Hawks led in shots, 34-9, and out-cornered Saint Anselm, 21-2. Goalkeeper Melanie Hopkins (Harwich, Mass.) improved to 9-1 on the season, making one save. Saint Anselm's Sullivan allowed all six goals, but totaled 18 saves as she dropped to 2-7.

With another win in the books, the River Hawks stay on the road to close out the week as they visit Southern Connecticut St. on Saturday at 12 p.m.