No 4. Field Hockey Falls to No. 1 East Stroudsburg in 2016 Season Opener, 4-2
Links: Box Score | Game Highlights
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – After a scoreless first half that looked eerily similar to last year's National Championship game, the No. 4 Merrimack College field hockey team took the first lead of the game but were unable to hold on, eventually falling to the reigning champions in No. 1 East Stroudsburg University by a score of 4-2 at Martone-Mejail Field Friday afternoon.
The Basics
Score: #1 East Stroudsburg 4, #4 Merrimack 2
Records: #1 East Stroudsburg (1-0) | #4 Merrimack (0-1)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field |North Andover, Mass.
How It Happened
- First Half – Much like the 2015 National Championship, the game would remain scoreless after a back-and-forth first half the saw solid goaltending from both teams. While it appeared the game would play out like the two teams' last matchup that ended 1-0 in overtime, both offenses would explode to combine for six goals in the second half.
- 43' – The Warriors took the first lead of the game off a nicely set penalty corner for the first goal of the year. Sophomore Delaney Yule (Southbury, Conn.) received a pass from junior Taylor Simpson (York, Maine) and fired a hard shot that deflected off of a stick to go top-shelf for her second-career goal and first Warrior goal of the season.
- 47' – East Stroudsburg answered with its first goal of the season just minutes later to quickly tie the game back up, cleaning up an initial save from junior Kayla Raneri (Reading, Mass.) and putting the rebound into the back of the net
- 50' – The Warriors of East Stroudsburg took their first lead of the game in the 50th minute on an offensive break that saw a nice pass come across the front of the Merrimack net and find an East Stroudsburg stick on the far post for the quick shoot-and-score.
- 59' – East Stroudsburg scored their third unanswered goal with just over 10 minutes remaining in similar fashion to their second, as a hard pass across the face of the net would be placed accurate right at the far post and out of reach of Merrimack defenders and Raneri for East Stroudsburg's third goal of the game
- 61' – Merrimack quickly answered East Stroudsburg's third unanswered goal thanks to junior Rylie Hammond (Phillipston, Mass.) netting her first of the season off of a rebound to cut the Navy and Gold's deficit to just one goal with under 10 minutes to play in the game.
- 62' – East Stroudsburg quickly regained the momentum late in the contest as they answered Merrimack's goal less than two minutes later to stretch their lead back to two goals at 4-2, where the game would ultimately finish.
Inside The Numbers
- Raneri opened 2016 with a career game in net, making multiple quality save on hard shots from the top team in the nation, finishing the game with a career-high 10 saves.
- Senior captain Sarah Sparks (Falmouth, Maine) recorded a defensive save early in the first half to help stop a goal, picking up the 11th defensive save of her career, ranking fifth in program history and one behind fellow senior Elizabeth Egan (South Dennis, Mass.).
- Yule's goal in the first game of 2016 marks just the second score of the sophomore's career, scoring her first-career in October of last season.
- Shots: MC – 10 // ESU – 21
- SOG: MC – 8 // ESU - 14
Up Next
The Warriors return to action on Wednesday with another contest at Martone-Mejail field when they host Bentley for a midweek matinee beginning at 4:30 p.m.
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