#4 Stonehill Pulls Away in Second Half at Southern Connecticut State, 6-2


Junior All-American Erika Kelly became the program's all-time scoring leader with 137 points after her ninth career hat trick this evening. (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix)

Kelly nets hat trick to lead Skyhawks and break program's career scoring mark 

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (November 1, 2014) –  Stonehill College, ranked fourth in this week's Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II poll, broke a halftime deadlock with five second half goals to claim a 6-2 victory over Southern Connecticut State University in Northeast-10 Conference field hockey action at Jess Dow Field this evening.

Junior All-American Erika Kelly (Watertown, Massachusetts/Watertown) scored her third hat trick of the season (ninth career) to lead Stonehill and in the process became the program's all-time leading scorer by finishing the night with 137 career points. Kelly has posted a program-record 64 goals to go with nine assists in 53 career games played, surpassing the previous program record of 132 points by Caitlin Gleason '08. Kelly now ranks eighth all-time in NE-10 history for scoring, while her 64 goals are tied for sixth all-time.

Freshman Alexandria Sylvia (Brockton, Massachusetts/Brockton) netted two goals for Stonehill, while sophomore Sarah Morse (Westminster, Massachusetts/Oakmont Regional) contributed a goal and assist. Senior Elizabeth Genovese (Street, Maryland/North Harford) made five saves for Stonehill, which finished with a 23-12 advantage for shots on the night to go with a 9-8 edge in penalty corners.

Freshman Colleen Murphy (Branford, Connecticut/Hamden) scored a goal in each half for Southern Connecticut State. Junior Audrey Dolloff (Raynham, Massachusetts/Bridgewater-Raynham) posted six saves in the Owls cage.

Kelly put Stonehill in front just 3:13 into the contest with her first goal of the night on a shot into the lower left corner of the cage, giving her 133 career points to break Gleason's career record. Murphy equalized for Southern Connecticut State less than ten minutes later with a goal off her own rebound on a long shot off a breakout.


Sophomore Sarah Morse posted a goal and assist, netted the Skyhawks go-ahead goal in the second half. (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix)

Morse put Stonehill in front for good 4:49 into the second half as the Skyhawks scored four straight to take control of the game. Morse's fifth goal of the year came off a pass from the middle by junior Lauren Giordano (Watertown, Massachusetts/Watertown) to a tap in to the goalie's right. Kelly followed with back to back goals less than eight minutes apart to break the game open. Her second goal of the game came off a pass from sophomore Shea Healy (Greenfield, Massachusetts/Pioneer Valley) for a high shot over Dolloff's left shoulder at 42:34, less than three minutes after Morse's go-ahead goal.

Kelly finished off her hat trick with a low shot to Dolloff's left for her 18th goal of the season off a pass from Morse at 50:57. Sylvia gave Stonehill a four goal lead (5-1) with her first marker of the game when she knocked in a loose ball during a scramble in front of goal just 50-seconds later.

Murphy's second of the night for Southern, off a pass from sophomore Bailey McGinnis (North Branford, Connecticut/North Branford), stopped the Stonehill run with her fourth goal of the season at 57:13. Sylvia capped the scoring in the game with her tenth goal of the year when she knocked in a redirected shot at 64:57.

Stonehill (12-2, 6-1 NE-10) returns to action on Tuesday when it visits Saint Anselm College for an NE-10 matchup at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks return home to host American International College on Saturday, November 8, for Senior Night at 6 p.m. Southern Connecticut State (2-12, 0-7 NE-10) hosts Adelphi University on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

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