Field Hockey Falls at Simmons Wednesday

BRIGHTON, Mass. - The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) field hockey team dropped a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest on the road to the Simmons University Sharks, 10-0, on Wednesday afternoon at Daly Field in Brighton, Mass. The Sharks found the back of the net seven times in the opening half before adding on three second-half goals to account for the final decision.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: USJ 0, Simmons 10
Records: USJ (1-11, 1-6 GNAC), Simmons (11-2, 6-2 GNAC)
Location: Daly Field (Brighton, Mass.)

KEY MOMENTS

• Simmons wasted little time getting on the scoreboard and netted the game's first goal 4:32 into the contest. The Sharks drove down left side of the field and centered a pass to sophomore forward Sydney Gonyea (Lebanon, N.H.). Gonyea's initial shot was turned away by USJ's junior goalkeeper Wendy Bowden (Old Saybrook, Conn.), but the rebound landed right at the stick of Simmons' sophomore forward Hannah Groves (Durham, Maine). Groves slid a pass back across the goalmouth to Gonyea who had a wide-open net and she converted for her 16th goal of the 2022 campaign.
• The Sharks struck again five minutes later at the 9:54 mark of the opening quarter. Following a turnover by the Blue Jays near midfield, Simmons' sophomore forward Emilia Elko (Richboro, Pa.) stole the ball and drove upfield in space. When she was met by a USJ defender, she slipped a nice pass forward to graduate student forward Riley Lambert (Virginia Beach, Va.), who collected and ripped a perfect shot past Bowden into the left side of the goal to double-up the Sharks' advantage.
• Simmons found the back of the goal two more times in the first quarter to increase its lead to 4-0 after the opening period of play. After a USJ foul, junior forward Aria Badra (Sunnyvale, Calif.) played quickly and drove toward the cage before popping a pass ahead to senior midfielder Maddie Beckwith (Winslow, Maine), who snuck a shot between the legs of Bowden to make it 3-0. Nearly two minutes later, Lambert used some fancy stick work to maneuver through traffic and find space before dishing off a pass to sophomore forward Anna Tedeschi (Hanover, Mass.). Tedeschi collected and finished brilliantly by lifting a shot straight up into the top netting to balloon the Sharks' lead to 4-0.
• The Sharks tacked on three more goals in the second quarter behind the play of Gonyea. Gonyea netted the hosts' fifth and sixth goals of the afternoon to collect a first-half hat-trick. Her first of the second quarter came on a successful penalty stroke at the 19:43 mark before she found the back of the net again with a long-range rip 24:24 into the match. Then just moments later, it was Gonyea's turn to dish one out as she found Lambert who backhanded in her second goal of the match to make it 7-0 heading into halftime.
• Simmons continued to apply pressure throughout the second half and added three more goals over the final 30 minutes of play with two goals in the third quarter and one in the fourth quarter.
• Freshman Zoe Schmaling (Standish, Maine) netted the first goal of the second half for the Sharks when she tapped in a goal at the far post after a great cross from Sharks' sophomore Hannah Groves (Durham, Maine). The hosts ninth goal of the match came after another successful penalty stroke, this time from senior defender Haley Dover (West Springfield, Mass.).
• The Sharks added one more goal in the fourth quarter following a penalty corner opportunity. Schmaling inserted the ball to Gonyea at the top of the arc and she fired toward the net. After the shot was deflected, Beckwith, who was by the post, was the beneficiary of a fortuitous bounce and knocked it in to pad the Sharks lead until the final horn sounded.

NOTES

• Today's game marked the second meeting all-time between the two GNAC programs. The Sharks have won both contests via shutout.
• 10 goals are the most the Blue Jays have allowed to an opponent in the program's brief two-year history.
• The Sharks outshot the Blue Jays on the afternoon, 30-2, including 20-1 in shots on goal.
• Simmons held a slight advantage in penalty corners, 10-4.
• All three of USJ's goalkeepers saw time in the contest. Sophomore Abby Delgado (Southington, Conn.) finished with a career-high nine saves in 41:53 of action.
• Senior netminder Sarah Arenberg (South Berwick, Maine) earned the win between the posts for the Sharks. She made one save in the shutout victory to improve to 6-0 on the season.

UP NEXT

Field hockey returns back to play on Saturday, October 15 for a GNAC match and its annual Pink Game at home versus Saint Joseph's College of Maine. The action is set to begin between the Blue Jays and Monks at 12:00 p.m. at the USJ Field Hockey Field in West Hartford, Conn.