Hawks open conference play with dominating win
The St. Joe’s field hockey team opened their Atlantic 10 conference play against the University of Massachusetts Amherst on Sept. 23 with a 5-0 victory.
They began their A-10 tournament title defense against a familiar foe. Last year, the Hawks beat the Minutemen in double overtime to win the A-10 Championship. Senior forward Anna Willocks knew this game had some added meaning.
“UMass has been one of our rivals,” Willocks said. “So it was really cool to have a tough game against them. It’s a chance to show the A-10 what we’ve got.”
St. Joe’s knew that coming out with intensity was key.
“We set the tempo so it was good for us,” sophomore forward Emily Henry said. “We had a two minute schedule where we wanted to set the tempo and come out strong.”
The rain added to the speed of the St. Joe’s attack. The pace of the game was rapid in the opening half.
“It was really fast,” Willocks said. “Especially given how the weather was. The rain makes the turf go fast but that suits us. We like to play with fast ball speed and fast foot speed.”
Willocks opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a goal. She dove for the ball and was able to pop it over the Massachusetts goalkeeper into the net.
The opening goal by Willocks had added meaning. It was her 156th career point, a new school record.
“Breaking records is something to aim for, it is good to have goals,” Willocks said. “But it was something I wasn’t trying to focus on too much. I just wanted to play good hockey with the team, and, really, I couldn’t have broken it without them.”
The goals kept on coming. Henry set up freshman forward Tonya Botherway for a goal to give the Hawks some insurance. Botherway then paid it forward, setting up sophomore midfielder Emily Peters for a tap in at the end of the first half. The team’s commitment to moving the ball is exactly what head coach Lynn Farquhar was looking for.
“We are starting to click,” Farquhar said. “We are starting to let the ball do the work and force ourselves to do early work to allow passing combinations to happen.”
The offense did not let off the gas in the second half. Henry and junior midfielder Katherine Bentz both scored off of penalty corners to extend the Hawks’ lead to 5-0. Henry credited her teammates for her productive play.
“I worked off of my teammates,” Henry said. “Working hard is something we emphasize here. I always make sure I do that for my teammates.”
After spending the past four weekends on the road, the team finally returned to Ellen Ryan Field.
“We missed it,” Farquhar said. “We love our home turf. We had an amazing crowd on Friday and even today despite the weather. We just love being home.”
The Hawks head back out on the road next weekend to face Lock Haven University Sept. 28 and Saint Francis University Sept. 30. They return home Oct. 7 to face Temple University in the Philadelphia Classic Tournament.
