WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Behind senior Michelle Pieczynski's (Doylestown, Pa./Central Buck West) fourth career hat trick, the Monmouth University field hockey team cruised past Robert Morris, 5-0, Friday afternoon on So Sweet A Cat Field. With the win, the Hawks' fifth straight, Monmouth (7-11, 5-1 NEC) clinches' a berth in next weekend's Northeast Conference Tournament to be held at the league's highest seed, November 2-3.
"Today was about honoring our seniors and we did that by coming out and playing our best hockey to date," commented head coach Carli Figlio after the victory. "Clinching a berth in the tournament and honoring our four senior student-athletes with a win made today very special."
Monmouth, which outshot RMU 24-3 for the game and 14-0 in the second half, controlled play throughout. The Hawks got on the board in the 16th minute when senior Kimmy Baligian (Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central) played a ball into the circle to the stick of Pieczynski, who fired a shot to the far post for what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Nearly 10 minutes later, junior Alex Carroll (Oceanport, N.J./Shore Regional) collected a rebound off a penalty corner and blasted a shot to the back of the cage for her fifth goal of the year, allowing the Blue and White to enter the break ahead, 2-0.
The Hawks, who held a 9-2 penalty corner in the second half, capitalized on a corner opportunity in the 59th minute. Junior Trish O'Dwyer (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto Beaufort) sent an insert to the top of the circle to Baligian who dished off to Carroll. Carroll sent a shot towards the left post where O'Dwyer got a stick on it and deflected past the Colonials' replacement goalkeeper, Paige Neat, for her seventh tally of the year.
Pieczynski notched her second goal of the game as she took a feed from Tara Brown (Hatboro, Pa./Archbishop) into the circle along the right side, cut to her left and beat Neat low to push the Hawks ahead by four. Monmouth's all-time points leader capped off MU's scoring as she broke away from the defense in the 68th minute and connected with her team-leading 16th goal of the year.
Teresa Mathews (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley) was forced to make one save for the Blue and White to earn her second clean sheet of the season. Erin McKenzie, who played the first half for Robert Morris, was tagged with the loss, making three saves, while Neat turned away five Monmouth shots.
Prior to the game, the field hockey program honored its seniors, Baligian, Pieczynski, Brown and Nicole Manziano (Monroe Township, N.J./Monroe Township).
"These seniors have helped build this program into what it is today," Figlio said about her graduating class. "They helped this year's team build our weaknesses into our strengths and we thank them and their families for all they have done for Monmouth field hockey."
With playoff implications on the line, the Hawks will travel to Lawrenceville, N.J. on Sunday for a 3 p.m. battle with rival Rider in the regular season finale.
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