The field hockey team continued their road trip this weekend, picking up their second win of the season.
The Hawks squared off against Georgetown University on Saturday at a neutral site in College Park, Maryland. The very next day, they headed over to Washington D.C. to take on American University.
On Saturday, Georgetown got off to a quick start with a goal early in the first half to take a 1-0 lead. Less than five minutes later, Michelle Pieczynski scored off of a rebound to tie the game up. A bit later in the first half, Amanda Schoenfeld struck for a goal, giving MU a 2-1 lead.
With the lead at halftime, the Blue and White had plenty of reasons to be optimistic, but a lot of work still had to be done on both sides of the ball.
At the 46th minute, Trish O’Dwyer found Pieczynski cutting up the middle, and dished it to her as she broke away and found the back of the net for the second time of the day. MU held a 3-1 lead with about 25 minutes left in the game, and were able to contain the Georgetown Hoyas for the remainder of the half, holding them scoreless and preserving a big 3-1 win.
“We meshed together really well in the win, from the seniors to the freshman,” said senior forward Kimmy Baligian.
At goalie, Teresa Mathews was near perfect, only allowing one goal, which was in the first half, and racking up seven saves total. Even though Georgetown held an advantage in penalty corners 12-6, they weren’t able to get the ball by Mathews more than once. MU outshot Georgetown 18-13 in the match.
“We focused more on the team as a whole and less on the tactical stuff. We played a lot better as a cohesive unit, and have been progressing in a forward movement. We have been peaking at the right time as a group,” head coach Carli Figlio explained.
On Sunday, the match against American University didn’t turn out as well in the end as the previous game did. The Hawks did get on the board first, with a goal from Jill Vogl at the 24th minute as she was assisted by Chelsea Mann. Monmouth held American for the rest of the first half, but the second half would be a different story. American scored twice in the second half, and held Monmouth scoreless, giving them the 2-1 victory over the Hawks.
Throughout the entire game, American dominated on shot attempts with a 13-7 advantage. They also held an 11-4 advantage over MU in penalty corners.
“The DC trip was very important. It made us come closer as a team. As a captain, I have to continue to have the mentality to work hard every day, and to lead by example,” Baligian explained.
“This road trip has been important in order to get us to know each other more,” Figlio added.
The Hawks currently stand at 2-10. They will open up conference play at St. Francis (PA) University on Sunday in Loretto, Pennsylvania. The game time is set for 1 pm.
