Box Score MERION STATION, Pa. – The Saint Joseph's field hockey team notched its third consecutive victory on Sunday afternoon, topping Georgetown, 6-3. Freshman Anna Willocks continued her torrid run of play, tallying her second hat trick of the season with another three-goal performance.
Saint Joseph's (8-8) came out of the gates strong, scoring two goals in the opening six minutes. Just under four minutes into the game, freshman Taylor Leonhardt sent a pass across the circle to a streaking Melanie Colozzi; the junior tucked home her first goal of the season for an early 1-0 lead. Two minutes later, Willocks dribbled into the circle and fired, beating Georgetown's Rachel Skonecki low to double the lead.
Sophomore Melissa Herd extended the advantage with 21:48 to play in the half, taking a pass from freshman Amy Smit after a penalty corner to make it a 3-0 game.
Georgetown (8-9) pulled one back two minutes later as Emily Weinberg converted a penalty corner, but Willocks struck again with 11:11 to go in the half, taking a feed from senior Nadia de Vries and freshman Monica Tice on a corner attempt to send the Hawks into halftime with a 4-1 lead.
Two minutes into the second half, Skonecki came up with a magnificent save on a shot by Willocks, but sophomore Jackalyn Pauling was on the spot for the rebound and a 5-1 SJU lead.
Willocks finished her hat trick with just less than 10 minutes remaining, taking a pass from freshman Joely Helder after a corner to score her 15th goal of the season and give the Hawks a five-goal cushion.
The Hoyas netted two late goals less than a minute apart, as Sarah Butterfield deflected a corner attempt into the cage and Devin Holmes scooped up a rebound, but the SJU defense would hold fast and see out the victory.
Skonecki made nine saves in defeat for the Hoyas, while junior Amelia Deibler posted eight for the Hawks. Saint Joseph's enjoyed a 21-16 edge in shots, while Georgetown held a 12-9 advantage in corners.
"Today was a great team effort," said head coach Lynn Farquhar. "Georgetown is a team that competes hard, and we were coming off of an emotional Atlantic 10 win on Saturday. To perform in back-to-back games is extremely challenging and we rose to the occasion."
The Hawks dedicated today's game to the efforts of Saint Joseph's senior Joey Gorman, who is working to raise awareness for a rare neurological disorder known as Chiari Malformation. Gorman, a member of the baseball team, has been afflicted with CM throughout his time on Hawk Hill, and the team wore shirts bearing his motto – "Losing is Not an Option" – during its pregame warmup.
"Dedicating today's game to Joey and his mission helped inspire us today," Farquhar said.
The Hawks return to action on Wednesday night at Princeton. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m.
