Sophomore Erika Kelly notched her fourth hat trick of the season and her second overtime winner (6th total) to lead the Skyhawks past rival Bentley tonight. (PHOTO BY Emily Reynolds) |
Kelly nets sixth gamewinning goal, second in OT, to finish off fourth hat trick
WALTHAM, Mass. (October 1, 2013) – Stonehill College, ranked fourth in this week's Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II poll, erased a two goal halftime deficit and kept its program-best unbeaten start to the season intact with a 4-3 overtime triumph at 9th-ranked Bentley University in Northeast-10 Conference field hockey action tonight.
Sophomore Erika Kelly (Watertown, Mass./Watertown) got the month of October off to the same start as September, netting her fourth hat trick and her sixth gamewinning goal of the year 5:46 into overtime to lead Stonehill to a 9-0 start for the first time in program history. The Skyhawks rallied from a 2-0 halftime deficit behind a pair of Kelly goals just 52-seconds apart as well as a second half marker from sophomore Lauren Giordano (Watertown, Mass./Watertown).
Senior Kelsey Davis (Gardner, Mass./Gardner), junior All-American Emily Sideris (Watertown, Mass./Watertown) and sophomore Elizabeth Thornton (Needham, Mass./Needham) all dished assists for Stonehill in the win. Junior Elizabeth Genovese (Street, Md./North Harford) finished with one save in the Stonehill cage as the Skyhawks posted a 13-7 advantage for shots on the night, including 9-2 after halftime, and registered an 8-2 edge in penalty corners (6-1 second half).
Sophomore Lauren Giordano scored her second goal of the season tonight. (PHOTO BY Emily Reynolds) |
Junior Gina Lirange (Auburn, Mass./Auburn) assisted on two of Bentley's three goals to lead the way for the Falcons. Senior Melissa Martorelli (Holmdel, N.J./Holmdel) and sophomores Sally James (Mequon, Wis./University School of Milwaukee) and Meghan Talerman (Centreville, Mass./Barnstable) all netted goals for the Falcons. Sophomore Katie Kelley (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) finished with three saves.
James put Bentley on the board with her third goal of the year, assisted by Lirange, 9:27 into the game. Lirange set up Talerman with 4:58 left in the half for a drive from just inside the arc on a penalty corner to double the Falcons lead just before the intermission.
Stonehill wouldn't get on the scoreboard until less than 16 minutes to play in regulation, but Kelly would strike twice within a 52-second span to knot the score at 2-2. Her first goal came with a penalty stroke at 54:04 and then she scored on a deflection from Thornton at 54:56.
Giordano kept the Stonehill wave coming with her third goal of the season off a pass from Sideris from Davis' corner at 58:57 to give the Skyhawks their first lead of the night. Martorelli leveled the game once again less than two minutes later with a penalty stroke marker at 60:44 for her second goal of the year.
Kelly, who scored the winner in Stonehill's other overtime win of the season at then 3rd-ranked Bloomsburg University to open the season, scored the deciding goal tonight on the first shot by either side in the extra frame, slipping past a Bentley defender and then sliding a shot past Kelley 5:46 in for her NCAA Division II leading 18th goal of the year. Kelly is now just two goals shy of Stonehill's single-season record of 20 set by Claire Hourihan, '10, in 2008 and matched in 2009.
Stonehill (9-0, 2-0 NE-10) is back in action on Friday night when it opens a three game home stand against Assumption College for a Northeast-10 Conference matchup at W.B. Mason Stadium at 7 p.m. Bentley (6-3, 1-1 NE-10) hosts Dowling College on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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