Field hockey’s senior forward Michelle Pieczynski became the first player in school history to surpass the 100-point mark for her career. She achieved the milestone earlier in the month in a loss to Fairfield University.
In the matchup against Fairfield, Pieczynski struck for her first goal of the game. Later in the game, she struck again, giving herself 101 points overall, and setting a new Monmouth University field hockey milestone. So far this season, Pieczynski has 13 points total, including six goals and one assist. She currently sits at 108 points for her career. Her 47 goals are the most all-time in Monmouth’s field hockey history. Also, she is tied for second on the all-time assists list. She trails 2011 graduate Morganne Firmstone, who holds the record with 16 career assists.
Based on her statistics and leadership qualities, Pieczynski is looked up to as a model player for the field hockey program. Her leadership both on and off the field has aided to her success as a player and as a person.
“I knew I was close to it, so I knew I could probably do it, but it does take the whole team to get up the field. It was a good accomplishment. I was happy about it. We just worked really hard together. It really helps our team out for sure,” Pieczynski explained.
In the 2011 season, she also led the team in points with 45, including 19 goals and seven assists. She also led the way during her sophomore season in 2010, with 31 points, including 14 goals and three assists.
Focusing on the team’s recent games, the Hawks fell to the University of Delaware last Wednesday by a score of 3-1. Tara Brown scored early for Monmouth, but after that it was all Delaware. They scored the final three goals to seal it, holding the Hawks scoreless for the remainder of the match. In the net, Teresa Mathews let up three goals, but did have seven saves. Both teams matched up well regarding shot attempts, but Delaware executed and hit more of their shots. Both teams also won eight penalty corners each.
On Sunday afternoon, Monmouth played host to Penn State University, who is ranked sixth in the nation. These two teams squared off two seasons ago at Penn State, when PSU was ranked 15th in the nation, as Monmouth fell short. This time,Penn State proved to be the tougher team once again. The score at the end of the final whistle was 7-1, but head coach Carli Figlio’s team showed some bright spots on the field.
Penn State got on the board first, but the Hawks responded with a corner deflection, which turned into a goal for Pieczynski. After that, the tough Penn State defense would shut down Monmouth’s offense for the rest of the match. Monmouth had some great opportunities, especially on the fast break, but finishing was the main problem for the Hawks. Penn State controlled Monmouth in shot attempts, 21-9, and held an 8-7 advantage on penalty corners.
“Penn State is really fast. They have some of the best forwards in the country. We had a lot of opportunities against them. We just couldn’t finish,” head coach Carli Figlio explained.
“We need to work on our receptions. If we clean that up in the way that we possess the ball, then we can beat anybody,” added Pieczynski.
The Hawks still remain winless, but with Northeast Conference (NEC) play coming up, it will hopefully prove to be an advantage for Monmouth since they are familiar with these in-conference squads. Monmouth has already faced two top ten nationally ranked teams this season and the upcoming schedule is expected to remain very tough as well.
“The last week and a half to two weeks, we have been coming together and we are becoming a team. We are finding out what we want to play for, who we want to play for and playing for each other is really something we are working towards. I’ve pushed the team very hard this preseason, especially with the schedule that we have. We are teetering on the finishing aspect,” Figlio stated.
On Friday, Monmouth will travel to face St. Joseph’s University.
