EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The ESU field hockey team won its fourth game of the season over a top-10 team on Monday afternoon, defeating No. 9 Saint Anselm 3-0 to improve to 10-1.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After an uneventful first half that had three total shot attempts and one corner for Saint Anselm, ESU came out of the break as a revamped team. The Warriors got their first corner just over a minute into the third quarter, as junior back
Megan Rafter swept in the pass. Junior midfielder
Maddie Moline's first attempt from the point was blocked, but she got the rebound settled and in position for another chance. Her second try made it through traffic, beating Mackenzie Wehrum to open the scoring.
The Hawks pushed back immediately, pressuring senior goalkeeper
Jet Vermeulen off a penalty corner. Vermeulen came up with a pair of saves to keep the score at 1-0, with play dying down until the end of the quarter. Fifth-year midfielder
Elaiana Rivera-Lagalla had the ball along the goal line to the right of the cage and outside of the circle, threading a pass towards the center to senior forward
Rylie McGrath. The captain-to-captain connection ended with McGrath working on her backhand and firing a shot past the right of Wehrum, doubling ESU's lead.
The same duo worked together again late in the fourth, adding on a final goal to ESU's total. Rivera-Lagalla started a counterattack up the left side, passing it up to McGrath outside the circle. Once she got in, McGrath fired a shot that was kicked into the air by backup goalkeeper Layla Cameron. Before the ball came back down to the field, Rivera-Lagalla deflected it past Cameron on the second chance, putting ESU up 3-0.
UP NEXT
The Warriors wrap up their homestand and stretch of three games in five days on Wednesday, Oct. 14, when they take on Molloy at 3 p.m. at Whitenight Field.
