September 30, 2006

BOX SCORE

Philadelphia, Pa.—The Longwood field hockey team fell 3-1 to Saint Joseph’s Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia. The loss puts Longwood at 4-6 on the season while the Hawks improve to 6-5. The Lancers will return to action on Sunday, October 1, as they take on the Temple Owls for a 12 p.m. match-up.

The Hawks took an early 1-0 lead 9:15 into the contest on a broken penalty corner that rolled out to the top of the circle. SJU’s Marisa Pizzi picked up the loose ball and lifted a shot to the upper left corner for the lone goal of the half.

Saint Joe’s pressured the Lancer defense right out of the halftime break, getting off five shots on two penalty corners in the first five minutes. The Hawks were able to pad their lead to two goals on a scramble in front of junior keeper Erin West/Stafford (North Stafford) that found the back of the net with 28:42 to go in the game.

Longwood was able to convert on its only penalty corner of the afternoon four minutes later, as freshman Kelsey Turner/Virginia Beach (Tallwood) fired a shot that was deflected into the back of the net by senior Katy Lernihan/Fredericksburg (Chancellor), cutting the deficit to one goal with 25:02 to go in the game. The Hawks were able to push the game out of reach for the Lancers with just under 13:00 to go in the game, sneaking a shot past West for the 3-1 victory. West finished the contest with a season high 14 saves while Saint Joe’s Rebecca Cunfer tallied three saves.

“I’m happy with our performance today,” stated ninth year head coach Nancy Joel. “It shows how our program has improved over the last couple seasons. Today was a great team performance, where we played disciplined.”

The Hawks held a 20-5 edge on shots and a 13-1 advantage in penalty corners.