NASHUA, N.H. – Rivier University (8-7, 8-3 GNAC) defeated Saint Joseph's College (6-10, 6-5 GNAC), 4-2, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) field hockey contest on Saturday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Raiders claimed an early lead when Reilly Swislosky scored off a penalty corner at the 3:16 mark of the opening quarter. The Monks held the hosts off the board for nearly 17 minutes before Madison Streeter (19:44) and Swislosky (20:31) hit pay dirt with a goal apiece in a matter of 47 seconds to make it a 3-0 game.
After a scoreless third quarter, Streeter found the back of the cage just 21 seconds into the fourth frame to extend her team's lead to 4-0. The SJC offense finally connected when sophomore Maya Waryas (Bellows Falls, Vt.) netted an unassisted tally at the 46:10 mark.
St. Joe's continued to pour on the pressure but did not score again until the 59:10 mark when junior Abbie Jacques (Mount Vernon, Maine) capped the game scoring with her fourth goal of the season. Freshman Madison Chavarie (Augusta, Maine) was credited with an assist on the play for her first NCAA point.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (17-7), shots on goal (9-6), and penalty corners (10-2) in the losing bid.
THE KEEPERS:
SJC junior Kassidy Collins (Pittston, Maine) posted a pair of saves in the setback while Rivier netminder Kylie Coupal turned away seven shots for the hosts.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
For Rivier, today's win over Saint Joseph's is the first in program history. Prior to this afternoon, the Monks had defeated the Raiders in 13-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2009 campaign. In fact, Saint Joseph's had not allowed a Rivier goal in nine straight games and outscored the Raiders by a 40-0 score during the shutout streak.
NEXT!
The Monks close out the regular season on Tuesday with a home game versus Simmons University. The GNAC contest is slated to start at 6:00 PM.
