MERION STATION, Pa. – Four different Hawks found the back of the net on Friday as the 11th-ranked Saint Joseph's field hockey team blanked La Salle, 4-0, at Ellen Ryan Field. With the win, the Hawks clinch the outright Atlantic 10 regular season title.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• After a scoreless first quarter, Saint Joseph's (13-4 overall, 7-0 Atlantic 10) got on the board via Lily Santi, who tucked home a pass from Aiden Drabick midway through the second quarter.
• Sol Borensztein doubled the lead with five minutes left in the half with a strong individual effort to send the Hawks into the break with a 2-0 advantage.
• La Salle (8-10 overall, 3-4 Atlantic 10) got its first shot on the board in the third quarter, but it was SJU that would break through once again as Drabick set up Manu Ghigliotti just 24 seconds into the fourth quarter.
• Freke van Tilburg finished off the scoring by converting a penalty stroke with 1:17 to play.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• The Hawks outshot the Explorers 9-2 on the day, including a 7-1 mark in shots on goal. SJU earned four penalty corners while conceding three.
• Robin Bleekemolen made one save in posting her fourth solo shutout of the season. Ryan Curley made three saves for La Salle.
• With the win, the Hawks locked up their sixth outright Atlantic 10 regular season title in seven seasons.
• The Hawks finished the regular season without conceding a goal in conference play; Saint Joseph's is the first program to shut out every Atlantic 10 opponent for an entire regular season since UMass in 1992, and the first to do it against a seven-game schedule.
• Friday was Senior Day, when the Hawks honored Bleekemolen, van Tilburg, Katy Benton, Leigh James, Anna Miller, Kacie Patton, Julianna Smyth, and Caroline Webb in a pregame ceremony.
HAWK TALK
"I am so proud of the team for finishing the A-10 regular season with a clean slate," head coach Hannah Prince said. "Today was a great day to honor our amazing seniors and finish strong in conference play. We have learned a lot about ourselves in the last couple of weekends that had helped us improve and get more united as a group. We are ready to head to UMass for the A-10 tournament!"
UP NEXT
The Hawks will head to Amherst, Massachusetts, for the 2022 Atlantic 10 Field Hockey Championship. The top-seeded Hawks will meet fourth-seeded VCU on Thursday, November 3.
