WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Senior Michelle Pieczynski (Doylestown, Pa./Central Buck West), and freshmen Orla Macken (Dublin, Ireland/Rathdown School) and Jill Vogl (Cazenovia, N.Y./Cazenovia) each scored a goal, while graduate Tara Brown (Hatboro, Pa./Archbishop Wood) chipped in a pair of assists as the Monmouth University field hockey team defeated Bryant, 3-1, Friday afternoon in Northeast Conference play. The Hawks, who have won three-straight games, improve to 5-11 overall and 3-1 in league play, while the Bulldogs, who have never won in West Long Branch, fall to 5-11, and 2-2 in NEC contests.
"Coming off the back-to-back wins last weekend, today was a great way to continue building our confidence and reaching our goal of playing with and for each other," stated head coach Carli Figlio.
Trish O'Dwyer (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto Beaufort) inserted an awarded penalty corner in the 13th minute for the Hawks. The junior forward sent the ball to Brown towards the left side of the circle where she sent a shot that tipped off Pieczynski's stick for her team-leading 11th goal of the season and a 1-0 MU lead.
The Blue and White tacked on another tally six minutes before the break when a loose ball in the offensive circle found the stick of Brown, who pushed it along to Vogl in front of an empty goal mouth where she fired the ball to the back of the cage for her second goal of the year.
Monmouth continued its offensive attack with under 10 minute left in regulation, capitalizing on a penalty corner opportunity. O'Dwyer sent the ball to the top of the circle to Macken, who eluded the Bryant defender to create space and unloaded a shot that beat Bulldogs' goalkeeper, Megan Mancock, for her second goal of the season.
Abigail Armstrong got the Bulldogs on the board with 53 second remaining, gathering a loose ball and firing a shot high over junior Teresa Mathews (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley) to avoid the shutout.
"We are really excited with the progress this team has made and having the underclassmen step up in a big way is encouraging," added Figlio.
Mathews made two saves for her fifth win of the season, while Hancock turned away eight Monmouth shots.
The Hawks dominated the stat sheet, outshooting the Bulldogs, 18-8, while holding a 14-5 advantage in penalty corners.
Monmouth returns to action this Sunday at noon as it welcomes associate league member Siena to So Sweet A Cat Field.
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