Box Score MERION STATION, Pa. – The Saint Joseph's field hockey team sent its seniors out in style on Sunday as the Hawks closed out the 2014 season with a 3-1 victory over Brown on a cold and windy afternoon at Ellen Ryan Field.
SJU honored its six departing seniors – Nicole Gerdes, Sara Kolobielski, Jordan Martin, Corie McLaughlin, Tori Popinko, and Katie Walsh – in a pre-game ceremony, and the senior class made its presence felt during the game, combining for two goals and two assists in the win.
"Our six seniors did a great job leading us today and our underclassmen stepped up both physically and by sharing their voices," said head coach Lynn Farquhar. "I'm thankful to be surrounded by such an amazing group of young women who have shared their passion and are incredibly hard workers. Today was a great finale to our 2014 fall season."
Popinko opened the scoring just 1:28 into the game, giving Saint Joseph's (9-9) an early lead. Martin made a run down the right wing before sending a long ball into the circle, where Popinko redirected it past Brown's Shannon McSweeney for her fourth of the season and a 1-0 edge.
Freshman Melissa Herd doubled the lead with 15:51 to play in the half. On a penalty corner, sophomore Nadia de Vries inserted to sophomore Melanie Colozzi, whose pass set Herd up for a blast that hit McSweeney's pads and then the back of the cage for a two-goal Hawk lead. The goal was the third of the season for Herd, who led all Hawk rookies in games, goals, assists, and points this season.
Brown (9-7) got on the board just 1:12 into the second half as Lucy Green notched her third goal of the year on a penalty corner to cut the SJU lead to 2-1.
After a nervy stretch during which the Bears increased the offensive pressure, SJU's two leading scorers combined to restore the two-goal advantage for the duration of the contest. On a corner opportunity, Martin sent a pass to Gerdes in the center of the circle, who sent the ball right back to Martin for the finish and the 3-1 lead.
"Compliments to Brown as they challenged our attack with solid defense and threatened our backfield with quick counter attacks," Farquhar said. "It was exciting to see our team play as one unit today. We've spent a lot of time this season emphasizing team play and working for one another, and today we put the pieces together and played Hawk hockey. It was a fun game of hockey to watch, and both teams competed hard."
Martin's goal gave her nine for the season, tops on the squad and a new career-high. She also finished the season with a team-best five assists and 23 points, tying her career high set last season. Martin concludes her career sixth on the Hawks' all-time career goals list with 30, 10th in assists with 16, and fifth in points with 76.
Sophomore Amelia Deibler made eight saves for her ninth win of the season, while McSweeney made seven in defeat for Brown. The Bears held a 20-19 advantage in shots, while the Hawks enjoyed 16 penalty corners to 10 for the Bears.
Saint Joseph's nine wins under Farquhar are the most for the Hawks since the 2008 season, and the most for a first-year coach since Barbara Linebarger's 1987 squad won 10.
