NEW BRITAIN, Conn.- Monmouth University enjoyed a 21-5 road victory over Northeast Conference opponent Central Connecticut State University on Sunday afternoon.
The Hawks were led by junior midfielder Ali Pollock (Watervliet, N.Y./Shaker), who set the school mark for assists with eight in the contest while tallying 11 total points, tying Heather Bryan's 2000 record. Pollock's eight assists broke Stacy Sydlo's 2002 record that came against St. Francis.With the win, Monmouth evened its season record to 6-6 (4-1 NEC), while CCSU fell to 0-12 on the season (0-5 NEC).
Monmouth had a 9-3 lead coming out of halftime then exploded for 12 second half goals. MU's 21 goals was the second most in school history and the most since putting up 21 against Lafayette in 2006. The Hawks scored five consecutive goals to start the second half, including two each from Molly O'Brien (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) and Shawn Evans (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown). Blue Devil Stephanie John broke the run at the 12:56 mark but the Hawks outscored CCSU 7-1 the rest of the way.
With less than two minutes elapsed in the opening half, redshirt freshman O'Brien scored an unassisted goal to put MU up 1-0. Blue Devil Michele Conway answered at the 26:35 mark, tying the game up 1-1. The Hawks then went on a three-goal unanswered streak with Megan Brennan (King of Prussia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll), Perry DeWitt (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley) and Evans all beating CCSU netminder Alice Lee.
Down 4-1, Central's Ashley Perkoski cut the Hawk lead by two with a goal at the 17:06 mark. Evans scored her second goal of the afternoon six minutes later and Monmouth held a 5-2 advantage with just over 10 minutes to play in the first. MU then rattled off four more unanswered goals, including tallies by Kaitlin Feeney (Baltimore, Md./Towson High School), Carissa Franzi (Fairfield, N.J./West Essex), Pollock and Brennan. The goal was Pollock's first of the game, however the junior midfielder assisted on four others in the first 30 minutes of play. At the end of the first half, MU commanded a 9-3 lead while outshooting the Blue Devils by an 18-10 margin.
Pollock's 11 points led all scorers, while O'Brien finished with a career-high six points on four goals and a pair of assists. Pollock also ended with five draw controls, one ground ball and a caused turnover. Brennan and Evans each had four goals, which was a career-high for Evans. Feeney had a career-high two goals while freshman Sam Lillo (Short Hills, N.J./Milburn) and junior Brittany McLaughlin (Coram, N.Y./Longwood) each had three points.
Johnson was solid all day, making seven saves while only playing the first 30 minutes. Backup netminder Kirby Mundorf (Catonsville, Md./Seton Keogh) made one save while giving up two goals in the second half. Lee finished with nine saves in 48 minutes of work as Monmouth dominated the shots with a 37-15 margin.
Monmouth's defense, led by Kelly Bosco's (Gulph Mills, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) three caused turnovers and two ground balls, forced 20 turnovers and held CCSU to just four-of-13 on clear attempts.
The Hawks will host instate rival Rutgers University at Kessler Field on Wednesday. The match is set to begin at 4 p.m.
