Anna Parker and Marlee Paterson both scored their first goals of the season for the St. Lawrence University field hockey team on Sunday afternoon, but early goals helped propel Ithaca to a 5-2 win over the Saints in Liberty League action in Ithaca, New York.
"As much as the 4-1 score on Friday was not indicative of the game, it was the same thing today – it wasn't a 5-2 game," head coach Fran Grembowicz said. "I thought we played well through the midfield in between the two 25's, but we'd get in the circle and just couldn't finish. We outshot them, we out-cornered them and our passing game and skills were really good."
St. Lawrence finished with a slight 17-16 edge in total shots, while shots on goal were even at 12 apiece. The Saints more than doubled Ithaca's chances on penalty corners on Sunday at 15-7, including nine in the second half, but were unable to capitalize.
The Bombers took the lead in the third minute with a goal from Victoria Sestito on a shot from the left side of the circle, and Jacqueline Mirabile pushed the lead to 2-0 with deflection in the 27th minute to conclude the scoring in the first half.
"They were really good at deflecting the ball in on corners and that was a challenge for us, but I thought we did well at the start of the second half," Grembowicz added. "We had a corner and scored to make it 2-1, but unfortunately they came firing back."
Just 32 seconds into the third quarter, Parker cut the deficit in half with the first goal of her career in the Scarlet and Brown off a feed from classmate Jackie Reiss.
Ithaca responded with a goal less than two minutes after the Saints got on the board to regain a two-goal lead and added two more to push to a 5-1 margin before Paterson converted on a deflection for her first of the season.
Bomber's goalkeeper Savanna Lenker made the initial stop, but Paterson was there to put back the rebound in the 52nd minute to make it 5-2 and conclude the scoring.
Lenker finished with nine saves for the Bombers, while the Saints' Sydney Giacin stopped five. Paterson and first-year defender Molly Lake also finished with defensive saves for St. Lawrence.
Mckenzie Haberl recorded a game-high six shots, including four shots on goal, while Isabel Thompson finished with four.
Records: St. Lawrence (4-10, 1-4 LL); Ithaca (9-5, 4-1 LL)
Up Next: at Vassar on October 25 at 4 p.m. in Poughkeepsie, New York
