Freedman posts third career shutout with four saves, Healy & Long tally goals
| Highlights and Postgame Interviews |
Senior captain Shea Healy netted the opening goal in the first half for the Skyhawks. (PHOTO BY Eamonn Grealish) |
EASTON, Mass. (September 5, 2016) – Stonehill College, ranked No. 5 in the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II preseason coaches' poll, earned a split of its season-opening matchups with the top two ranked teams in the country as it notched a 2-0 triumph over No. 2-ranked Millersville University in non-conference field hockey action at Timothy J. Coughlin '80 Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium this afternoon.
Sophomore goalkeeper Sara Freedman (Hopkinton, Massachusetts/Hopkinton) backboned a stout Stonehill defense for the second straight game to open the season and after notching a career-best 12 saves in a tough 2-1 setback to top-ranked East Stroudsburg University on Saturday, she turned away all four shots on goal she faced this afternoon to record her third career shutout. Millersville posted a 9-7 edge in shots for the game and held a 12-6 advantage for penalty corners, but put just the four shots on target.
Senior captain Shea Healy (Greenfield, Massachusetts/Pioneer Valley) and freshman Taylor Long (Northborough, Massachusetts/Algonquin Regional) tallied the goals for Stonehill. Juniors Alexandra Dillon (Canton, Massachusetts/Canton) and Alexandria Sylvia (Brockton, Massachusetts/Brockton) dished out assists for the Skyhawks.
Sophomore Sara Freedman notched her third career shutout with four saves. (PHOTO BY SportsPix) |
Senior Samantha Rumler (Douglassville, Pennsylvania/Daniel Boone) made three saves in the Millersville cage. The Marauders were defeated for just the second time in the regular season over the last two years and it marks the first time since 2011 the program hasn't opened with two wins.
Healy opened the scoring in the 21st minute when she took a corner pass from Dillon and blasted her first goal of the season through traffic and into the right side of the goal. Long's first career goal provided the insurance with less than 18-minutes to play. The goal came on a counterattack as sophomore Kacie Smith's (Norwood, Massachusetts/Norwood) long pass from the midfield sent Long and Sylvia in two on one with Rumler and Sylvia took the Smith pass down the right side and feathered a pass to an open Long at the left post for a one-time shot at 52:38.
Stonehill (1-1, 0-0 NE-10) is off until Saturday, when it visits No. 10 Limestone College for a non-conference matchup in South Carolina at noon. The Skyhawks return home on Wednesday, September 14, to host 4th-ranked Merrimack College at W.B. Mason Stadium at 7 p.m. Millersville (1-1, 0-0 PSAC) hosts Seton Hill College on Saturday at noon.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market. Stonehill will serve as host of the 2016 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championship at W.B. Mason Stadium, November 18-20.
