STANDISH, Maine – The Saint Joseph's College (1-0) field hockey team kicked off the 2021 campaign with a 3-2 victory over Skidmore College (1-1) on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at the SJC Athletics Complex.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks earned a pair of penalty corner attempts in the opening five minutes and converted both bids, as senior Meghan Hill (Brookline, N.H.) scored just 3:20 into play and senior Emma Rutledge (Alfred, Maine) hit pay dirt at the 4:36 mark to lift the hosts to a quick two-goal advantage.
The 2-0 lead held until the fourth minute of the third quarter, when senior Sofia Marshall (Wolfeboro, N.H.) found the back of the cage off a Carrie Hughes (Kansas City, Mo.) insertion pass off a corner. The Monks answered with their third corner tally of the afternoon in the fourth minute of the fourth frame, when junior Aimee Adams netted her first collegiate goal with a blast from the left flank.
The Thoroughbreds applied plenty of pressure in the closing minutes and the efforts paid off when senior Mariah Redler (Winchester, Mass.) beat SJC freshman netminder Kassidy Collins (Gardiner, Maine) off a Lauren Ruggiero (Wellesley, Mass.) feed with 29 seconds left, but the comeback bid would fall short with too little time remaining.
TEAM STATS:
The Monks held the advantage in shots (19-12), shots on goal (14-7), and corners (14-7) in the victory.
THE KEEPERS:
Collins was solid in her first NCAA contest with five saves on the afternoon while Skidmore senior goalie Jess Gaetgens (Berlin, Conn.) turned away 11 shots in a losing effort.
NOTEWORTHY:
- Senior Olivia Esposito (North Reading, Mass.) was credited with three assists in the victory
- Adams tallied a goal and an assist and led all players with six shots, including four on goal
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 3-1 in the history of the series with Skidmore College and has now defeated the Thoroughbreds in three-consecutive meetings – all season openers - dating back to the 2018 season.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play at Thomas College on Wednesday at 7:00 PM while Skidmore is off until next Friday when they host Williams College in a 4:30 PM start.
