LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - Sophomore Patricia O'Dwyer (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto Beaufort) scored the game-winning goal just over a minute into the second half as the second-seeded Monmouth University field hockey team defeated No. 3 Quinnipiac, 1-0, in Friday's Northeast Conference Tournament Semifinals at Rider's Ben Cohen Field. With the win, the Hawks (15-5) advance to Saturday's NEC Tournament Championship Game to be played at noon against the winner of Friday's second semifinal game between the top-seeded Broncs of Rider and No. 4 Saint Francis (Pa.). The Hawks, whose 15 wins tie a program record, advance to their third-straight NEC Championship Game in search of the first title in program history.
"I don't think we played our best in the first half," said fifth-year head coach Carli Figlio. "We definitely adjusted some things for the second half and focused on ball movement as opposed to dribbling. The surface is a little bit slower so strong passes and working together as a team is what helped us to get the victory today."
After playing a scoreless first half, the Hawks broke the ice 1:08 into the second stanza when junior Michelle Pieczynski (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) dribbled into the circle and put a backhanded shot on cage that was pushed away by QU's goalkeeper Nicole Lewis's pad, right to O'Dwyer who tucked the ball inside the near post for the eventual game-winner.
Three minutes later, the Bobcats had a two-on-one opportunity that the Hawks' sophomore goalkeeper Teresa Mathews (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley) made saves on two of Kaitlyn Notarianni's shots to keep MU ahead by a goal.
MU looked to extend its lead as Pieczynski's tip-in chance off a penalty corner was turned away by Lewis. The loose ball found the stick of junior Kimmy Baligian (Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central) on the far side, where her high backhanded flick was saved by Lewis, keeping the score at 1-0.
Junior Nicole Manziano (Monroe, N.J./Monroe Township) registered her NCAA-leading 12th defensive save as she cleared Lauren Zimniski's shot off the line with 17 minutes left in regulation.
Sophomore Alex Carroll (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional), a All-Northeast Conference First-Team selection, had a shot off a corner opportunity ring off the post with under 15 minutes to go, keeping MU up one.
Quinnipiac's Amanda Danziger put a final scare into the Hawks, rifling off two shots at the doorstep with less than four minutes remaining in regulation. But Mathews was equal to the task, stopping both.
For the game, Monmouth outshot Quinnipiac, 16-12, while penalty corners were an even 11-11.
Mathews made seven saves to earn her fourth clean sheet for the Hawks, while Quinnipiac's Lewis made 10 saves in defeat.
Figlio added, "It is really exciting to be playing in our third-straight conference finals game. Hopefully we can build on second half today and come out really strong and play our hearts out for a complete 70 minutes tomorrow."
