Sophomore Erika Kelly scored four goals to lead the Skyhawks to a comeback win at #9 East Stroudsburg. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
Kelly adds four goals to finish with seven on the weekend, Sideris caps rally with winning goal as Skyhawks complete Pennsylvania sweep
EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. (September 8, 2013) – Stonehill College, ranked 10th in the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II preseason coaches' poll, capped its first sweep of a Pennsylvania trip since 2005 with a 6-5 comeback victory over 9th-ranked East Stroudsburg University in non-conference field hockey action at Whitenight Field this afternoon.
Sophomore Erika Kelly (Watertown, Mass./Watertown), who scored all three of Stonehill's goals in Saturday's 3-2 overtime triumph at 3rd-ranked Bloomsburg University, added four more tallies this afternoon as the Skyhawks rallied from deficits of 3-1 at halftime and 5-3 with under 23-minutes remaining to claim the comeback triumph. Junior All-American Emily Sideris (Watertown, Mass./Watertown) scored the game winning goal with less than 13 minutes to play, while classmate Jennifer Foley (Holden, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) also chipped in with a marker. Senior Kelly Gouveia (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) dished out two assists, while senior Kelsey Davis (Gardner, Mass./Gardner) added a helper as well.
Junior Elizabeth Genovese (Street, Md./North Harford) recorded a career-high 12 saves, six in each half, holding East Stroudsburg to a pair of second half goals to keep Stonehill in the game. East Stroudsburg posted a 20-19 edge in shots for the contest and had a 13-6 advantage in penalty corners.
Junior Elizabeth Genovese had a career-high 12 saves in the win today. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
Sophomore Ally Roth (Scotrun, Pa./Pocono Mountain East) scored two goals for East Stroudsburg, while juniors Gabrielle Seibert (Milton, Pa./Milton) and Jessica Lawville (Reinholds, Pa./Cocalico) as well as sophomore Kaitlin Blum (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) each chipped in with markers. Freshman Madelyn Craver (New Holland, Pa./Garden Spot) posted five saves in 61:59 in the Warriors goal, while classmate Danielle Ard (Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg) went untested over the final 8:01.
Junior All-American Emily Sideris scored the winning goal to cap the Skyhawks rally. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
East Stroudsburg staked out a two goal lead just 5:39 into the contest with Seibert scoring an unassisted goal 1:14 into the game before Roth doubled the Warriors lead off a penalty corner from senior Brielle Kessel (East Stroudsburg, Pa./East Stroudsburg South). Kelly put Stonehill on the board off a pass from Gouveia at 8:05, but Roth sent East Stroudsburg into halftime with a 3-1 margin with an unassisted strike at 24:37.
Foley pulled Stonehill back within a goal again, off a feed from Gouveia, 8:46 into the second half, but Blum reclaimed East Stroudsburg's two goal margin once again when she knocked in a rebound off a corner less than three minutes later. Kelly added her second goal of the contest just 17-seconds after the Blum tally to cut the Skyhawks deficit to a goal for a third time, but Lawville restored the two goal cushion a mere 23-seconds after that to put the Warriors up 5-3 at 47:15.
Stonehill kept the pressure on and netted three goals in a five minute span to take the lead. Kelly struck twice more at 52:01 and 54:35 to knot the score, the latter goal assisted by Davis off a penalty corner. Sideris capped the comeback with her first goal of the season at 57:40 to give the Skyhawks a lead they would not relinquish. Genovese and the Stonehill defense faced just two shots and two corners over the final 11:27 and were up to the task each time to preserve the victory.
It marks the first time Stonehill has won a pair of games in the State of Pennsylvania since 2005 when the Skyhawks picked up wins over Mansfield University and East Stroudsburg.
Stonehill (2-0, 0-0 NE-10) is back in action next Saturday when it visits Saint Michael's College for its Northeast-10 Conference opener at 2 p.m. The Skyhawks first home game is scheduled for Thursday, September 19, when it hosts American International College for a non-conference clash at 7 p.m. East Stroudsburg (1-1, 0-0 PSAC) hosts No. 3 Bloomsburg University on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
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