Senior Claire Hourihan notched seven points, netting her second-straight hat trick to lead the Skyhawks past Saint Michael's today. |
#5 Stonehill Rolls Past Saint Michael's, 6-0
Hourihan nets second-straight hat trick, adds assist, to lead Skyhawks
EASTON, Mass. (September 19, 2009) - Stonehill College, ranked fifth in this week's Kookaburra/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II poll, rolled to its seventh-straight victory with a 6-0 decision over Saint Michael's College in the Northeast-10 Conference field hockey opener for both at W.B. Mason Stadium this afternoon.
Senior Claire Hourihan (East Amherst, N.Y./Williamsville North) enjoyed a seven point day as she netted a hat trick for the second-straight game and added an assist to lead Stonehill to victory. The Skyhawks also got multiple points from sophomores Kathryn Nelson (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) and Caitlin O'Keeffe (Morristown, N.J./Morristown) as each contributed a goal and assist. Junior Lindsay Pinkham (Skowhegan, Maine/Skowhegan Area) chipped in with a goal as well.
Junior goalkeeper Courtney Osier (South Dennis, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth) made two saves to preserve her third shutout of the season (eighth career) for Stonehill. She has allowed just two goals over her last 428:04 of play (0.33 GAA). Junior Meghan McLaughlin (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth) finished with eight stops in goal for Saint Michael's as the Skyhawks recorded a 19-5 advantage in shots for the game.
Hourihan played a role in each of Stonehill's first three goals as the Skyhawks staked out a four goal lead less than 20-minutes into the game. She opened the scoring 2:10 into the contest when she pushed a shot over the line on the left side off a feed from Nelson after the sophomore was stopped initially by McLaughlin. Hourihan doubled the lead 4:41 later with an unassisted strike during a scramble in front of goal.
Sophomore Kathryn Nelson registered a goal and assist today. |
Hourihan turned provider on Stonehill's third goal at 16:06 when she fired in a long pass from well beyond the top of the arc that Nelson redirected past McLaughlin for her fifth goal of the season. Pinkham netted her second of the season exactly three minutes later off a corner when junior Courtney Foley (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield Memorial) sent her a pass from the upper left side of the arc at 19:06.
Stonehill put the game out of reach with two goals in the final ten minutes. Hourihan completed her hat trick at 61:11 with a blast from eight yards out on the left side off a pass from O'Keeffe. Hourihan's three goals today move her within four of Aly Boulis for second place on Stonehill's all-time list with 38 career goals. Hourihan's 93 career points are just two shy of Boulis for second on the Skyhawks all-time scoring list.
O'Keeffe rounded out the scoring on the second of two Stonehill penalty corners after time had expired for her second marker of the season.
Stonehill (7-2, 1-0 NE-10) rounds out its three-game home stand on Tuesday night when it hosts 8th-ranked Bentley University for an NE-10 battle at 7 p.m. Saint Michael's (2-6, 0-1 NE-10) visits Franklin Pierce University on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
