Field hockey splits weekend games
The Saint Joseph’s University’s field hockey team (7-3, 2-0) opened last weekend with a big win at Saint Louis University on Friday, Sept 23. Their 7-0 victory advanced the Hawks to a 2-0 Atlantic 10 record, and was their second shutout win against conference opponents.
In Friday’s win, four players provided the Hawks with goals. Senior Kerri Turk scored twice for St. Joe’s in déjà vu fashion—her last two-goal game was last season, also against Saint Louis.
Freshman Kathrin Bentz also scored two goals on Friday, the first of her career. Sophomore Anna Willocks was the final player with multiple goals, while freshman Emily Sayre scored the remaining goal for the Hawks, the first of her career.
Following the blowout win, the Hawks returned home to face the 20th-ranked Great Danes from the University at Albany on Sunday, Sept. 25. Willocks scored two goals for St. Joe’s early in the first half. They marked her 13th and 14th goals of the season, which comfortably made her the conference’s leader. The next closest is Emily McNamara from Virginia Commonwealth University, with five. Willocks also raised her season point total to 32, which is 17 points ahead of second-place McNamara.
The Great Danes were able to counter with two goals of their own, one from freshman Viola Von Der Muhlen and the other from senior Paula Heuser, resulting in a 2-2 tie headed into the half.
With just under seven minutes remaining in the game, sophomore Frederike Helmke earned a penalty stroke for Albany and was able to convert to give her squad a one-goal advantage. With little time remaining, the Hawks pulled their goalkeeper in order to add an extra attacker.
St. Joe’s was unable to score before Albany freshman Emily Fraser put the ball into an empty cage and sealed a 4-2 victory with twenty-seconds remaining in the game.
The teams played evenly for the entirety of the game, despite the final score
“I think there was some quality hockey out there,” St. Joe’s Head Coach Lynn Farquhar said. “I think they showed heart, which you have to be proud of the team for that.”
St. Joe’s won the most important game of the weekend, the conference game against Saint Louis. However, the Hawks refuse to see a loss against a nationally ranked team as a step backwards.
“Again, I think it goes back to our goal—to take a step forward every weekend and I think we did that,” Farquhar said. “It’s always tricky to say when we split the weekend, but I think overall we are moving forward. Our goal is to play with heart and [that was] recognized that from an outsider’s perspective, so [we] can’t complain. We’re looking to improve. We added some new things with our attacking third, which I think we implemented, so it’s a good week for us. We just have to keep moving forward.”
The Hawks will host two conference opponents this weekend. First, they’ll play the University of Richmond (4-5, 2-1) on Friday, Sept. 30 at 4 p.m., then VCU (3-5, 1-1) on Sunday, Oct. 2 at noon.
