Box Score SCRANTON, Pa. – The University of Scranton field hockey team scored three goals in the second half to pull away from Juniata (2-8, 1-1 Landmark) in a 4-0 victory for the Royals (9-0, 2-0 Landmark) on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Weiss Field in Scranton.
Scranton, who was receiving votes in the most recent Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll that was released earlier in the week, scored three goals in just over a four minute span between the third and fourth quarters to turn a 1-0 lead into a 4-0 lead.
This marks the second 9-0 start for the Royals in the last four seasons after a program-record breaking 15-0 start in 2017.
The Royals struck first in the 11th minute as sophomore Cori Davis (Millerstown, Pa./Greenwood) collected a rebound by the Juniata goalie off an initial shot from freshman Reagan Dolan (Broomall, Pa./Bonner & Prendergast) and found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. Just a couple minutes later, sophomore Katie Redding (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) nearly extended the lead, but Nicole Piccioni made consecutive saves for the Eagles. Scranton had a series of chances throughout the second quarter and Piccioni made three saves in the quarter to keep it a 1-0 game for the time being.
Holding the 1-0 lead early on in the third quarter, Scranton's defense held strong as Juniata had a trio of penalty corners, but was only able to get one shot away from the three corner opportunities. In the final minute of the period, Dolan sent a feed across the goal mouth to senior Shaelin de Wit (New Tripoli, Pa./Northwestern Lehigh) and the latter beat Piccioni for a 2-0 lead. As mentioned earlier, the Royals broke the game open early in the fourth quarter with two goals in 0:42 to make it a 4-0 game. First, senior Allie Benadon (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) dribbled around a defender following a penalty corner and was able to rip a shot near past Piccioni in the 48th minute for her ninth tally of the year. Benadon added an assist to her ledger shortly thereafter as she fed Redding who completed the scoring with her eighth goal of the season.
Head coach Colleen Moyer's squad held a 17-6 advantage in shots led by seven from Redding and four from Benadon. Juniata held a slight 11-10 edge in penalty corners.
This marked the fifth consecutive shutout victory for the Royals and their eighth of the season. In fact, the team has allowed just one goal in their first nine games.
Junior goalie Clare Maguire (Oreland, Pa./Mount Saint Joseph Academy) tallied three saves in the shutout win and ranks second in all of NCAA Division III in both goals against average (0.15) and save percentage (.967).
Piccioni had seven saves in the loss for the Eagles.
The University of Scranton field hockey team looks to remain unbeaten as they head south to battle Wilkes on Wednesday night with action set to get underway at 7 p.m.
--ROYALS--
