MERION STATION, Pa. – Sunday's start time was moved up 90 minutes due to soaring temperatures in the Philadelphia region, but
Manu Ghigliotti came out on fire anyway. She matched a school record with four goals as the 11th-ranked Saint Joseph's field hockey team blew past Yale, 6-1, at Ellen Ryan Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Saint Joseph's (3-1) ripped off 12 shots in the first quarter and held the Bulldogs without one, but after the opening stanza, the game remained scoreless.
• It was actually Yale (1-1) that struck first, with Nicole Gotthardt converting on a penalty corner on the Bulldogs' first shot of the contest midway through the second.
• Ghigliotti drew the Hawks level just 79 seconds later on an assist from
Katelyn Cocco. She then converted on a penalty corner a minute and a half later on a feed from
Katy Benton and
Lily Santi to put the Hawks on top.
•
Erika Culp got on the board two minutes after that, scooping up a loose ball and scoring high to give the Hawks a 3-1 leading heading into halftime.
• It took less than five minutes for SJU to extend the lead in the third quarter.
Celeste Smits carried the ball into the circle and weaved through half the Yale defense before finding
Leigh James at the far post; James slammed home the pass for a 4-1 lead.
• Ghigliotti finished off her performance in the fourth quarter. Early in the frame, she fired low past Yale's Luanna Summer on a pass from
Maaike Gorissen. She then tied both the single-game goals and points records with her fourth goal of the day, taking a pass across the circle from
Milou Kluyt on a corner and firing home to close out the scoring.
HAWK TALK
"I'm really happy with our squad today for playing a full 60 minutes," head coach
Hannah Prince said. "I challenged them and they responded! I am also extremely proud of the connectivity on the field as well. As a program, it's a huge accomplishment to tie a school record, and we are so proud of Manu."
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Ghigliotti's four goals and eight points tied the school records set on three previous occasions (Liz Burns, 1990; Katelyn O'Brien, 2004; Nicole McCreight, 2010).
• The Hawks peppered Summer's cage with 31 shots on the day while allowing just four; SJU also enjoyed a 17-4 advantage in penalty corners on the day. The Hawks outshot the Bulldogs 19-1 in the first half while holding an 11-1 halftime edge in corners.
•
Janelle Ward got the start in the cage for the Hawks and earned the win, making one save;
Marith Bijkerk made a save in 15 minutes of relief work as well. Summer made 11 stops, while Colette Staadecker added a pair of defensive saves for the Bulldogs in defeat.
•
Caroline Brickley,
Ciara Margetich, and
Caitlin Nicholls made their Hawk debuts in the contest.
UP NEXT
Saint Joseph's hits the road for the first time this season, visiting Michigan State on Friday night before taking on fourth-ranked Michigan on Sunday.
