WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – Senior Amanda Schoenfeld (West Sayville, N.Y./Connetquot) and freshman Julie Laszlo (Rotterdam, Netherlands/Rotterdams Montessori Lyceum) each scored first-half goals and the defense held on to propel the top-seeded Monmouth University field hockey team to a 2-1 victory over fourth-seeded Sacred Heart, Friday afternoon in the MAAC Championship Semifinals, held at So Sweet A Cat Field. With its fifth straight win, the Blue and White earn a trip to the championship game against No. 2 Rider on Sunday at 11 a.m. with a berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line.
“The girls really played hard today and it is awesome to come away with the victory,” commented the 2014 MAAC Lids Team Sports Coach of the Year, Carli Figlio. “We are so excited to be in the finals on our home field. We are looking forward to adjusting a couple things and build off the attack we had this afternoon.”
Monmouth opened up the scoring in the 16th minute when the MAAC Player and Offensive Player of the Year Trish O'Dwyer (Dublin, Ireland/Loreto Beaufort) sent a cross to the opposite post where Schoenfeld hammered home her 13th goal of the year give the Hawks an early lead.
The Hawks doubled up the score eight minutes later when Laszlo took a feed from sophomore Alyssa Ercolino (West Long Branch, N.J./Shore Regional) on an insert play and fired a shot that deflected off a defender's stick and past Sacred Heart's goalkeeper, Mary Altepeter to give MU a 2-0 advantage.
The Pioneers threatened right before halftime when Liz Bergman collected a loose ball in the circle and fired a shot towards cage that was steered away by a diving Christen Piersanti to allow MU to enter the break ahead, 2-0.
Monmouth looked to extend its lead 11 minutes into the second stanza, but Meg Donahue's (Wyomissing, Pa./Berks Catholic) shot attempt was cleared off the line by Caitlyn Slussler, while Casey Hanna's (Seaville, N.J./Ocean City) deflection attempt in the 55th minute was turned aside by Rachel Claroni.
With 3:44 left in regulation, the Pioneers were awarded a penalty corner that was converted by Bergman to cut the MU lead in half, but the Hawks' defense did not allow another SHU shot to hold on for the 2-1 victory.
For the game, Cori Allen (Gibbsboro, N.J./Eastern Regional [Iowa]) led the Hawks with three shots on goal, while O'Dwyer and Donahue each attempted a pair of shots.
Piersanti earned her 11th win of the year in cage, making three saves, while Altepeter made three saves of her own in the losing effort.
Monmouth outshot the Pioneers, 10-8 and Sacred Heart held a 6-5 edge in penalty corner attempts.
Monmouth, which will make its sixth title game appearance in program history and fifth under Figlio, will take on the Broncs at So Sweet A Cat Field, live on MAAC.TV, on Sunday.
-@MonmouthFH-
