HAMILTON – Despite a tying goal by
Nora Mulroy, the Colgate field hockey program fell in a 7-1 decision to American, who remains undefeated in the Patriot League.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
After lots of action in the midfield, American was able to capitalize on their second corner of the game for a 1-0 lead seven minutes into the game with a long shot from the top of the circle. The Raiders would see a chance by
Blair Boyles, but would end the first quarter down 1-0 to the undefeated rival.
Midway through the second quarter,
Campbell Matheis intercepted a ball in the midfield before passing it up the sideline to
Mari Kniezewski. Passing it off to
Nora Mulroy, she flew up the field and once entering the circle, sent a high ball over the keeper to even the game at 1-1.
The even slate would be short-lived as American answered with a low ball sent to the left side just 1:13 later, making it a one-goal game heading into halftime.
After returning for the second half, Colgate made a stop in the backfield, but American picked up the rebound and scored for a 3-1 lead. In the final minutes of the quarter, the Eagles had a long pass up the far sidelines that was brought into the circle solo and scored one-on-one for a 4-1 advantage. It was then midway through the fourth quarter that the Patriot League rival would increase their lead yet again by converting on a penalty stroke. After play started back up, American then claimed the ball off a Colgate defender and weaved in for a 6-1 advantage just 19 seconds later.
Before the final horn, American would add one last goal in the final seconds with a pass in from the corner, capping the 7-1 final in the Patriot League finale.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• With her goal,
Nora Mulroy earned her second goal of the season and first since scoring against Saint Louis (Aug. 31).
• Earning her first career assist, freshman
Mari Kniezewski tops the team's rookies with seven points on the year.
• Junior
Campbell Matheis earned her first point on the season by recording an assist on Mulroy's tally.
• In goal, sophomore goalkeeper
Anna Unger faced a season-high of 21 shots, earning four saves on the day.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• American 7, Colgate 1
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate holds a 2-13 overall record and completes Patriot League play 0-6.
• American is 10-4 on the season, as well as 5-0 in league action.
COACH APRIL CORNELL'S TAKE
"Nora's goal really kept us competitive on attack. She's a powerful player, so when she puts her mind to it, she is definitely a finisher inside the circle. With some injuries this season, she's put that aside and is now has the mentality that there are three games left to come out and play as strong as possible. It's a great addition to our attack.
"The main thing we're going to work on is that we have some goals for us on the attack, we want to draw more attack corners than we did today, and get an opportunity for more shots on goal. That's going to be a focus for tomorrow.
"When we focus on two-touch passing, we move the ball quicker and we want to carry that into tomorrow. Playing as one team also helps us in maintaining our energy and we came out today communicating louder and with more energy in the first half and we need to do that through the whole game to have a strong finish."
UP NEXT
The Raiders close out the season with a pair of nonconference matchups. Tomorrow's 1 p.m. start against Vermont is Colgate's final home game of the 2019 campaign, with the Raiders honoring their three-player senior class for Senior Day postgame.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate field hockey program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateFH and on Instagram at Colgate_FH.
