Field hockey won both of their games on the road this week against conference opponent UMass Lowell 3-1 on Friday and Holy Cross, 2-1 on Sunday to extend their winning streak to seven games.
The 21st ranked Hawks came out of the gate hot scoring two goals in the first quarter to get them out to an early 2-0 lead. Freshman forward Yasmin Pratt scored the first goal of the game in just the 4th minute assisted by freshman midfielder Aylin Aufenacker.
By the 9th minute, sophomore forward Annick van Lange scored for the second consecutive game, increasing her point total to 30 for the year. Assisting on the play was junior midfielder Ireen Frenken. After a scoreless second quarter Monmouth went into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
Entering the second half, UMass Lowell showed some life as they scored in the 38th minute cutting the lead in half.
In the final 15 minutes UMass Lowell put some pressure on the Hawks defense but Monmouth prevailed. They were able to get off three shots as well as earning a pair of attacking corners late in the fourth quarter. Pratt was able to find the back of the cage with time expiring to send the Hawks home with a win to help improve their impressive winning streak.
“I am so proud of the girls to be able to get to this point,” said Head Coach Carli Figlio. “The progression throughout the year and to be in this position is a result of hard work from every single person on this team. I am so honored to be their coach and so excited to be hosting the America East Championship in our first year in the league.”
While the Hawks clinched the first seed in the conference, they will host the tournament at So Sweet a Cat field. With the win, they also claimed at least a share of the regular season title. This is the sixth consecutive regular season crown the program has achieved.
On Sunday, the Hawks went head to head against Holy Cross. Just like the previous game, Monmouth got off to a hot start. They scored their first goal in just the 2nd minute courtesy of the stick of senior midfielder Josephine van der Hoop. Monmouth shortly followed up with another goal in just the 9th minute when Frenken scored her sixth goal of the season to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead.
After a scoreless second and third quarter, Monmouth held onto their lead all the way until the beginning of the fourth quarter. Holy Cross did not score their lone goal until the 60th minute and by then it was too little too late, the Hawks went home with the 2-1 victory.
The blue and white were strong in the game right from the start and dominated the stat sheet. They outshot Holy Cross 30-10 and had 18 shots on goal while Holy Cross had a mere four. After Sunday’s victory, the Hawks finished non-conference play with a record of 8-4.
“It is nice to finish non-conference play with a victory,” said Figlio. “Looking forward to regrouping and refocusing before heading into the final game next week against Vermont.”
The Hawks won their seventh game in a row with their victory on Sunday, which marks the second time they have accomplished this in the past three seasons.
Coming up next for the Hawks is an away matchup against conference opponent Vermont. Monmouth and Vermont face off on Friday at 3:00 p.m. for their final regular season game of the season. After this game, The American East Championship will begin at So Sweet A Cat Field the following week.
PHOTO COURTESY of Monmouth Athletics
