RICHMOND, Va. –
Manu Ghigliotti tallied a goal and an assist as the Saint Joseph's field hockey team opened its Atlantic 10 slate with a 2-0 win over VCU at Cary Street Field on Friday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Saint Joseph's (4-2 overall, 1-0 Atlantic 10) put the ball in the cage twice in the opening quarter but had the goal disallowed on both occasions. It wasn't until late in the second quarter that the breakthrough came as
Leigh James sent a pass in to Ghigliotti, who sent it past Sheridan Messier for a 1-0 halftime lead.
• The Hawks dominated VCU (3-3 overall, 0-1 Atlantic 10) in the third quarter, and it paid off in a second goal as
Lily Santi tipped a ball from Ghigliotti on a penalty corner to double the advantage.
• SJU was able to see out the shutout by holding the Rams to just a single shot in the fourth quarter.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Saint Joseph's finished with a 10-4 advantage in shots and a 9-2 lead in penalty corner opportunities. The Hawks held the Rams to one shot over the final 36 minutes of play.
•
Robin Bleekemolen made two saves to earn the win;
Janelle Ward did not face any shots in seven-plus minutes of relief. Messier made two stops for VCU.
HAWK TALK
"I'm excited we got our first conference win," head coach
Hannah Prince said. "The team was able to work through some adversity today with cards and some tactical changes. VCU is a very talented team, so I'm very pleased with the outcome. We will continue to work on our execution and we're excited for our matchup with Virginia on Sunday."
UP NEXT
The 13th-ranked Hawks will visit ninth-ranked Virginia on Sunday. The game, set to begin at 2:00 p.m., will air on the ACC Network.
