ERIE – The third-ranked East Stroudsburg University field hockey team opened PSAC play on Sunday with an impressive 5-0 victory on the road against Mercyhurst. Senior Celeste Veenstra matched her career-high with three goals to help extend the Warriors' winning-streak to seven games.
The Warriors move to 7-2 overall and open conference play 1-0 for the eighth consecutive season while the Lakers fall to 0-8 and 0-1 in the PSAC.
ESU dominated the game from the opening whistle as they scored at least one goal in every quarter. Veenstra paced the Warriors with a hat trick while sophomore Grace Lesh and freshman Jady van Gils each added a goal.
Notables
- Sophomore Amy Supey (7-2) earned her seventh consecutive victory in goal, making one save
- Veenstra recorded her team-high fifth goal of the season
- Lesh registered her first collegiate goal with the Warriors in the first quarter
- van Gils scored her third goal of the year in the fourth quarter
- Junior Hanna Lewis picked up her second assist of the season on Lesh's goal
- The Warriors held the edge in shots on goal, 25-1
- ESU was awarded eight penalty corners while Mercyhurst had five
How it Happened
00:41 | The Warriors wasted no time grabbing the lead as they went ahead 1-0 just 41 seconds into the game. Morgan Mesenbrink delivered a pass into the center of the arc for Veenstra, who shielded off the defender before turning to her right and firing a strike into the right corner of the goal.
8:32 | After an initial shot off a penalty corner by Lewis was saved, there was a battle in front of the net for possession of the ball. Lesh would gain control before jamming a shot into the bottom left corner of the net to extend the Warriors' advantage to 2-0.
28:47 | In the closing minutes of the first half, Veenstra found the back of the net for the second time on the afternoon to push ESU's lead to 3-0. As both teams tried to corral the loose ball, Veenstra was awarded possession at the top of the arc. Just as the Mercyhurst defender moved back five yards, the Alkmaar, Netherlands native delivered a rocket inside the left post.
40:43 | Following a turnover by Mercyhurst, the Warriors made a series of passes before Veenstra ended up with the ball on the right side of the arc, where she delivered a shot that trickled off the pads of Mercyhurst's Kayla Desormeau to give ESU a 4-0 lead.
46:34 | The Warriors opened up the final period of play with their fifth of the game to extend their edge to 5-0. After an initial attempt by van Gils was blocked, the freshman was able to regain control of the ball before a follow up shot made its way into the back of the goal.
Up Next
The Warriors return to Whitenight Field on Wednesday afternoon for a marquee matchup against top-ranked Shippensburg at 3 p.m.
