WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - The Monmouth University field hockey team took an early 1-0 lead on the defending Northeast Conference champions, Lock Haven, but couldn't hold on as LHU defeated the Hawks, 5-1, on Sunday afternoon on So Sweet A Cat Field. The Blue and White dropped their overall record to 7-10 and fell to 3-3 in NEC play while the Eagles improve to 16-3 and stay unblemished in the NEC with a 7-0 record.
The first fifteen minutes of the opening half saw physical back-and-forth play by both teams, but it was Monmouth that struck first at the 15:22 mark. Sophomore Elly Rosati (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata) tallied her first goal of the season off a short corner pass from red-shirt senior Enza Mazza (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) to put the Hawks up 1-0 early. Just 38 second later, the Eagles' Suzann Hobart answered with a goal of her own, tying up the game 1-1.
Lock Haven notched another goal six minutes later, putting the Eagles up 2-1, but the Hawks came charging back with less than 30 second left on a penalty corner. With the clock running down, sophomore Tara Brown (Abington, Pa./Archbishop Wood) flicked a high shot into the top right corner of the goal with just one second left on the clock, but it was waived off, leaving the final score of the half 2-1 in LHU's favor.
The second half of play was all Eagles as Lock Haven tacked on three insurance goals, including a tally from the NEC's leading scorer, Amy Hordendorf, to finish the game, 5-1.
Mazza led the Hawks offensively with four shots, while Brown and Rosati each added a shot of their own.
Junior goalie Melissa Katz (Tinton Falls, N.J./Monmouth Regional) led the Blue and White defensively with seven saves on the afternoon.
Lock Haven led the game with a 20-6 shots on goal advantage and also held the penalty corners advantage, 10-4.
The Hawks, with two more conference games left in the season, still have a shot at solidifying a spot in the NEC tournament. They currently sit in a third place tie with Quinnipiac going into the last week of conference play before tournament play.
MU returns to the field on this Friday, October 30th, when they travel to Rhode Island for an NEC matchup against Bryant at 4:00 p.m.
