Maggie Green's goal in the 59
th minute propelled the St. Lawrence University field hockey team to a 2-1 win over Nazareth College in the Saints' final game of the season on Wednesday afternoon in Rochester, New York.
In addition, first-year
Cricket Barnes notched her first collegiate goal against the Golden Flyers with the game-tying tally in the 27
th minute to erase an early Nazareth lead.
"I'm proud of this group," head coach
Fran Grembowicz said. "We're young, but we learned a whole lot this season. We wanted today to be a jump-off point for next year – to finish strong so we can start at this level next fall, so I'm really happy that we finished on a high note."
Junior goalkeeper
Sydney Giacin helped the Saints have a chance at the comeback with 12 saves, including one on a penalty stroke by Nazareth's Natalie L'Hommedieu in the 53
rd minute, as the St. Louis native made a diving stick save on a high shot to the left side of the cage to keep the game tied at 1-1.
"Sydney was great today," Grembowicz added. "She really got peppered, especially in that first quarter, and she kept us in it. She took a lot of shots and was right on her angles and on her game today."
Nazareth outshot St. Lawrence 10-1 through the first quarter and took a 1-0 lead just 2:09 into the game on Jennifer Hilts 14
th goal of the season.
The next three quarters were a different story, however, as St. Lawrence finished with a 26-18 advantage in total shots – including a 10-1 margin of its own in the third quarter – as well as a 17-13 edge in shots on goal. The Saints also held Nazareth without a penalty corner in both the second and third quarters.
"We started to play our game in the second quarter and really picked up the pace," said Grembowicz. "We kept the ball in our offensive end for a good portion of both the third and fourth and had a lot of good pressure from the midfield to get the ball up."
With time winding down in regulation, Nazareth's Morgan Hasty was given a green card for tripping leaving the Golden Flyers down a player at a crucial time in the game. It took less than 20 seconds for Green to move the ball down the right side, uncontested, and beat goalkeeper Amanda Chuttey with 1:45 to play for her third goal of the season and the game winner for the Saints.
"Maggie did a great job to score that goal," she added. "[Chuttey] stayed on the line and Maggie just pushed the ball past her."
With the win, St. Lawrence finishes the 2019 season with a 6-11 record while Nazareth falls to 8-10.
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