The Field Hockey team won three of their matchups over the past two weeks. Over fall break the Hawks handily defeated LIU Brooklyn by the score of 10-1 and pulled off an impressive 3-2 overtime victory over Villanova. This past Friday they cruised to a 9-1 road win over Siena to improve to an overall record of 12-3 and extend their winning streak to four.
The Oct. 13 matchup against LIU Brooklyn featured an offensive explosion for the team. Six different Hawks netted goals and four Hawks had a multi goal game. Sophomore forward Josephine van der Hoop initiated scoring with a goal at the 5:30 mark and Monmouth did not let up from there.
By the time the first half concluded, the Hawks were up by seven and had registered a total of 23 shots. Coming out of the half, Monmouth wasted little time padding the score. This time it was junior forward Elyssa Okken who further added to the lead with her second of the day.
LIU Brooklyn registered their first and only goal of the game in the 39th minute but it was too little too late at that point. Junior forward Georgia Garden Bachop tacked on the final two goals to finalize the scoring and the Hawks walked away with a 10-1 victory.
“It was a great team win today. Everyone implemented what we worked on in practice and I am proud of the progress we made this week,” Head Coach Carli Figlio said on the win.
Monmouth took on and defeated Villanova on Oct. 15 in a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory. The Hawks once again seized the early lead in the 17th minute in this one. It was in thanks to van der Hoop, who was assisted by senior forward Meg Donahue. The Wildcats however, tied it up 40 seconds before the half and the game went into the half knotted at one.
Villanova would take the early lead six minutes in the second half, but Monmouth would tie it up in the final minutes off a goal from junior forward Kelly Hanna. The overtime period went scoreless, but Monmouth was given a chance to win the game with a corner opportunity. Freshman defender Tamar Klinkhammer tipped in the game winner off assists coming from fellow Netherlanders, van der Hoop and senior defender Julie Laszlo.
“We showed a lot of character in tying the game late and then held our composure in double overtime. Finishing 9-2 in non-league play and being nationally ranked during that time is a tremendous feat for our program. Hoping that the lessons learned during non-conference play will help us the final few weeks of the season,” Figlio said on the game.
The Hawks sailed past Siena this past Friday with a 9-1 victory in Loudonville, NY. Klinkhammer continued her exceptional play by registering Monmouth’s first two goals of the game once again assisted by Laszlo. The Hawks added two more before the half and even more impressively did not let Siena register a shot in the first period.
Coming out of the half Monmouth wasted little time adding to the lead. This time it was senior forward Mallory Kusakavitch who buried a rebound to put the Hawks up by five. Siena got on the board in the 53rd minute but it was Monmouth’s sophomore forward Kelly Hanna who capped off scoring for the day to complete her second hat trick of the season.
“Top to bottom, today was a total team effort. Our small passing game allowed us to keep attacking well. We will look to continue the momentum as we head into the final weekend,” Figlio said on the team’s win.
Monmouth will take on Bryant University in Rhode Island this Friday for their final road game of the season. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. The Hawks will then face off against Rider on Sunday at 1 p.m. and celebrate senior day at So Sweet A Cat Field.
PHOTO COURTESY of Monmouth Athletics
