Senior Claire Hourihan provided a goal and assist in tonight's key NE-10 win at #5 UMass Lowell. |
#4 Stonehill Tops #5 UMass Lowell, 3-1
Hourihan collects goal and assist as Skyhawks take giant step towards NE-10 title
LOWELL, Mass. (October 13, 2009) - Stonehill College, ranked fourth in this week's Kookaburra/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II poll, gained the advantage in the race for the 2009 Northeast-10 Conference regular season title and top-seed in the upcoming NE-10 Tournament with a 3-1 victory over No. 5 University of Massachusetts Lowell in NE-10 field hockey action at Cushing Field tonight.
Stonehill now sits a half game ahead of 8th-ranked Bentley University (11-3, 5-1 NE-10) atop the NE-10 standings with three NE-10 games to play and a full game ahead of Adelphi University (9-5, 4-1 NE-10), Merrimack College (10-6, 5-2 NE-10) and UMass Lowell (12-3, 4-2 NE-10). However, Stonehill holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with Bentley, Adelphi and UML for the top-seed in the upcoming NE-10 Tournament while playing Merrimack next week at home.
Senior forward Claire Hourihan (East Amherst, N.Y./Williamsville North) led Stonehill with a goal and assist, marking the eighth-straight game she has scored a goal. Hourihan's 17 goals this season are just three shy of her own single-season program record of 20 set last season, while her 46 career markers are seven shy of Caitlin Gleason's record of 53 set from 2004-07.
The Skyhawks also got goals from senior All-American Jackie Ladino (North Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) and sophomore Kathryn Nelson (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) as they outshot UMass Lowell 11-3. Ladino's goal gives her 92 career points, just eight shy of becoming just the third player in program history with 100 career points - joining Hourihan who reached the milestone this season.
Senior All-American Jackie Ladino's tenth goal of the season proved to be the game-winner tonight in Lowell. |
Junior Sammy Macy (Tewksbury, Mass./Tewksbury) maintained her two-goal cushion in the NE-10's scoring race over Hourihan with the lone UMass Lowell goal on the night. Junior Amy Carbon (Bellingham, Mass./Bellingham) made five saves in goal for the River Hawks, while junior Courtney Osier (South Dennis, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth) didn't register a save in the cage for Stonehill.
Hourihan gave Stonehill the advantage just 8:13 into the contest when she took a pass from junior Lindsay Pinkham (Skowhegan, Maine/Skowhegan Area) off a rebound and knocked the ball past Carbon. Ladino doubled the Skyhawks lead 10:15 into the second half when she converted a rebound for her tenth goal of the year.
Macy put UMass Lowell on the board and drew the River Hawks within one at the 54:46 mark off a feed from senior Kayla LeSage (Amesbury, Mass./Amesbury) and netted her 19th goal of the season. Stonehill regained the two-goal edge 3:09 later on a penalty corner when Nelson scored her seventh of the year off a pass from Hourihan from junior Courtney Foley (Wakefield, R.I./Wakefield Memorial). Foley tallied four points (goal, 2 assists) over two games against the River Hawks this season.
Stonehill (12-3, 6-1 NE-10), winners of 12 of its last 13, returns to action on Thursday when it hosts Assumption College at W.B. Mason Stadium at 4 p.m. UMass Lowell (12-3, 4-2 NE-10) visits Saint Anselm College on Thursday at 4 p.m.
