Sparkill, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Field Hockey team used a strong offensive day to defeat the Southern Connecticut State University Owls, 7-1 in Northeast-10 Conference action on Thursday Afternoon at Spartan Field. Lauren Cooper scored four times on the day, while Hailey Galison chipped in two goals and Olivia Cerbo picked up a goal.
STAC improves to 8-9 overall and 7-6 in NE10 play, while So. Connecticut drops to 2-12, 2-10 NE10.
How it Happened
-The Spartans got scoring started just over eleven and a half minutes into play. Lauren Cooper found her teammate Hailey Galison at the left post for a tip-in goal to take a 1-0 lead.
-St. Thomas Aquinas extended their lead to 2-0 early in the second quarter, when Lauren Cooper would poke in a pass attempt by Nicola Van Vuuren at the front of the net.
-Just five minutes later, Cooper would pick up the ball and dance her way through several Owl defenders to tally her second goal on the day to make it a 3-0 STAC advantage.
-Hailey Galison would be awarded a penalty stroke with just under 90 seconds left in the first half, which she would she could convert with a low shot to the left post to give the Spartans a 4-0 lead at the break.
-Out of the break, St. Thomas Aquinas would make a goalie change, with Eve Kowalczyk coming on in relief of Jessie Hohenstein.
-Two minutes into the new quarter, Assumption would break the shutout as Kaitlyn Bourque fired a shot on net, which would elude Kowalczyk and Abigail Koonankeil would find the loose ball and fire it home while falling to the ground to cut the STAC lead to 4-1.
-Lauren Cooper picked up her third goal of the afternoon in the 48th minute (4th Quarter), firing a shot into and through the back of the net on a partial breakaway to make it 5-1.
-Olivia Cerbo got onto the stat sheet just four minutes later on a shot that got through Owls keeper Janelle Ward, pushing the STAC lead to 6-1.
-The Spartans sealed the deal in the 57 minute, as Lauren Cooper would lift a shot past Ward and into the back of the net, for her fourth of the match, giving St. Thomas Aquinas a commanding 7-1 advantage and the victory.
Inside the Box Score
- STAC's seven goals in a match is a program first.
- The Spartans have scored 26 goals through 10 contests in the month of October.
- Lauren Cooper now extends her team lead in goals (10) and points (21).
- St. Thomas Aquinas outshot Southern Connecticut 28 to 7 on the afternoon.
- Jessie Hohenstein (W, 8-9) made five saves over three quarters played, while Eve Kowalczyk had no saves in one quarter of action.
Up Next
St. Thomas Aquinas closes out its 2021 regular season schedule, visiting Assumption University on Saturday, October 30. The Spartans and Greyhounds will do battle in an NE10 postseason preview beginning at 1pm in Worcester, Mass.