Box Score
PINE VALLEY, N.Y. – The University of Scranton field hockey team (1-2) scored three first half goals and picked up their first win of the season with a 3-0 victory over the Elmira Soaring Eagles (2-1) on Saturday afternoon at Murray Athletic Center in Pine Valley, N.Y.
This marks the third straight year that the Royals have blanked Elmira after recording 4-0 decisions in each of the previous two seasons.
Scranton controlled play from the outset and recorded four penalty corners in the first five plus minutes of the contest. Sophomore Amelia Sharp (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) opened the scoring at the 7:35 mark of the first quarter with a penalty stroke goal to give the Royals a 1-0 edge for the time being. Head coach Colleen Moyer's squad continued to put the pressure on offensively in the second quarter when senior Gracie McClatchy (Havertown, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) gathered a rebound off of classmate Brianna Witt's (Sloatsburg, N.Y./Suffern) initial shot and beat Elmira goalie Tina O'Donnell to make it a 2-0 game with 9:15 to play in the period. Just a few minutes later, Witt had a couple of chances in front and sophomore Shaelin de Wit (New Tripoli, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) scored her first career goal on a penalty stroke to give Scranton a 3-0 edge. The goal for McClatchy was her first of the season after leading the team with 16 goals a season ago. The Royals outshot the Soaring Eagles by a 16-1 margin in the first half.
Elmira had a handful of scoring chances in the second half, but the Royals' defense held strong to register their first shutout of the year. Senior Claire McAllister (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) and freshman Claire Maguire (Oreland, Pa./Mount Saint Joseph Academy) combined on the shutout for Scranton as McAllister made two saves in net, while Maguire tallied three saves of her own. O'Donnell made 17 saves for the Soaring Eagles.
The Royals held a 24-5 shot advantage in the contest including a 20-5 edge in shots on goal and earned 12 penalty corners. Witt paced the visitors with nine shots in the game, while sophomore Allie Benadon (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) registered seven. Kelsie Aloi tallied a pair of shots for Elmira.
Scranton returns home to host Misericordia on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at Weiss Field with start time set for 7 p.m.
--ROYALS--
