STONEHILL FIELD HOCKEY
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Warrior Field, North Andover, Mass.
FINAL: STONEHILL 3, MERRIMACK 2
1 2 Total
Stonehill (12-3, 10-2 Northeast-10) 1 2 - 3
Merrimack (8-4, 8-4 Northeast-10) 1 1 - 2
SCORING SUMMARY
STO: Kelly Latendresse (Kara Brady) 15:03 1st
MER: Cassandra Leone (Kristen Belair) 26:10 1st
MER: Maggie Florence (Belair) 44:33 2nd
STO: Kerri Sullivan (Unassisted) 69:37 2nd
STO: Caitlin Gleason (Unassisted) 70:00 2nd
GOALIE SAVES
STO: Dani Ryder-2
MER: Amy Larrabee-17
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.-- Junior Caitlin Gleason (New Boston, N.H.) converted a penalty corner with no time remaining as sixth-ranked Stonehill scored a pair of goals in the final 23 seconds of play to post a 3-2 Northeast-10 Conference field hockey victory over ninth-ranked Merrimack Wednesday evening at Warrior Field.
Gleason's heroics came just moments after sophomore Kerri Sullivan (Goffstown, N.H.) tied the score in the closing seconds off another penalty corner for the visiting Skyhawks (12-3, 10-2 Northeast-10), who ran their winning streak to five straight and remain a half game ahead of third-ranked Bentley for first place in the league standings. Stonehill jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute of play when senior All-America Kelly Latendresse (Sidney, Maine) converted a feed from junior Kara Brady (Eastham, Mass.) off a penalty corner, but the host Warriors (8-4, 8-4 Northeast-10) evened matters in the 27th minute when senior Cassandra Leone (North Andover, Mass.) took a pass from fellow senior Kristen Belair (Methuen, Mass.). Merrimack took a 2-1 lead in the 45th minute when sophomore Maggie Florence (Lowell, Mass.) converted another Belair feed, and that score held up until the final minute before Sullivan's tying and Gleason's game-winning heroics provided the Skyhawks with their triumph.
Junior Dani Ryder (Gloucester, Mass.) picked up her 12th win of the season in goal for Stonehill with a pair of saves, while junior Amy Larrabee (Stratham, N.H.) made 17 stops in net for Merrimack as the Skyhawks held a commanding 23-8 edge in shots for the match over the Warriors while also holding an 18-8 advantage in penalty corners. The win was Stonehill's fifth in seven matches against a nationally-ranked foe this season.
Stonehill travels to Rindge, N.H. on Saturday afternoon to take on Franklin Pierce in a Northeast-10 outing that begins at 1:00 p.m., while Merrimack heads to Colchester, Vt. on Saturday afternoon to square off with eighth-ranked Saint Michael's in a Northeast-10 match that also begins at 1:00 p.m.