WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - With a Northeast Conference Championship berth on the line, the Monmouth University field hockey team defeated Siena, 5-1, Sunday afternoon on So Sweet A Cat Field to earn the fourth seed in next weekend's tournament. The Hawks, sparked by their highest scoring outburst of 2009 with five goals, punched the last ticket left into the NEC Championships after missing post-season play by one game the last three seasons.
"We're very excited to make a tournament appearance," said Head Coach Carli Figlio. "After falling short the last couple of seasons, its great to be back in the hunt for the title."
Redshirt senior Enza Mazza (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) saved her best for last, fittingly on Senior Day, as she tallied her second career hat trick and added an assist to set a program record for points in a game with seven. On a day honoring the veterans, freshman Michelle Pieczynski (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) showed a peek at the program's future as she added two goals and an assist on the afternoon as well.
"It was an amazing effort today by everyone," exclaimed Coach Figlio. "But our seniors really shined today. Enza {Mazza} had a fantastic game."
The first half was a scoreless back-and-forth battle between both teams until Mazza notched back-to-back goals at the 31 and 33 minute marks. The veteran opened up scoring with a fast break two on one goal then added an impressive reverse chip shot past Saints goalie Renee Clavette to put the Blue and White up 2-0 going into halftime.
Thirteen minutes into the second half, Pieczynski notched the first of her two goals on the afternoon on a rebound flick shot from junior Nora Bosmans (Oakhurst, N.J./Ocean Township). The Saints got onto the board at the 50 minutes mark on a rebound goal, but the Hawks answered twice after with Mazza and Pieczynski posting goals to give MU the 5-1 victory.
Hawks goalie Melissa Katz (Tinton Falls, N.J./Monmouth Regional) played solid between the pipes with four saves on the afternoon. Sophomore Tori Symonds (Glen Gardner, N.J./Vorhees) notched a career-high two assists in the game while Bosmans added her second assist on the season. Mazza and Pieczynski led the offensive attack for the Hawks with eight and six shots a piece while juniors Morganne Firmstone (Honesdale, Pa./Honesdale) and Meredith Violi (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) tallied two shots a piece.
The Hawks owned the shots advantage on the afternoon, 20-9, while the Saints recorded more penalty corners, 8-7.
The win propelled the Hawks to 8-11 overall and 4-4 in NEC play while the Saints dropped to 4-14 overall and 2-6 in the conference. The NEC Championship appearance is the first for Coach Figlio in her young three year tenure at MU.
Mazza, a 2008 All-NEC Second-Team honoree, has re-written the MU all-time record book as she now stands third all time in goals (17), second all time in assists (11), and third all time in points (45) while also etching her name into the single season record books this season as third in goals (11) and third in points (29) while owning the assist record (7). Pieczynski has also made her mark in the single season books as she is in a sixth place tie in goals (8) and a seventh place tie in points (18).
With a Rider win over Lock Haven this afternoon, the Broncs are the 2009 NEC Championships hosts with the number one seed. The fourth-seeded Hawks will return to the field this weekend when they take on the one-seeded Broncs on a date and time yet to be determined.
