MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. ? The Monmouth University field hockey team won its third consecutive game, and second straight to begin Northeast Conference play, 3-1 over Robert Morris on Sunday afternoon at Joe Walton Stadium. The Hawks closed the game out by scoring three goals in less than two and a half minutes late in the second half to top the Colonials.
“It took us a long time to get going today, but our team showed a lot of heart coming back,” said head coach Carli Figlio. “The final five minutes or so we played very solid hockey and it's definitely something we can build on.”
MU allowed Robert Morris to take the game's initial lead 1-0 when Jade Roberts scored off an assist from Courtney Bertolone off a penalty corner at the 62:35 mark of the game after a scoreless first half. The Hawks then flipped the switch on and scored three goal in the span of two minutes to take control of the game and seal the win.
Senior Annie LoPresti (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North) scored her second goal of the season at the 64:21 mark to tie the game at 1-1 for Monmouth. A little over a minute later, LoPresti and freshman Katie Amundsen (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern) both assisted on freshman Morganne Firmstone's (Honesdale, Pa./Honesdale) game-winning goal, giving the Hawk's a 2-1 lead at the 65:33 mark. Firmstone then fed teammate Hollee Hooven (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central) for an insurance tally at the 66:45 mark of the game, giving MU their final 3-1 lead.
Melissa Katz (Tinton Falls, N.J./Monmouth Regional) earned her second straight win in goal, making one save in the game.
Monmouth outshot Robert Morris 12-5 in the game and held a 13-6 advantage on penalty corner opportunities.
Monmouth, which improves to 3-7 and 2-0 in the NEC with the win, has now won three straight games for the first time since it topped Fairfield, Siena and Robert Morris in October of last year. MU's 2-0 start in conference play marks the first time since 2000 that the Blue and White have won their first two NEC games.
The Hawks return to action on Friday, October 5 when they travel to Loudonville, N.Y. for a 4:00 p.m. contest with Siena.
