Field Hockey Unable to Rally from Early Deficit

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Regis College was able to put together some offensive production in the second half, but not enough to overcome a first half deficit as the University of Saint Joseph held on for a 3-1 victory Saturday evening in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) field hockey match at the USJ Field Hockey Complex.

USJ (8-4, 5-2 GNAC) struck first less than six minutes into the contest as Aurelia Barker scored off an assist from Grace Kociszewski. Right before time ran out in the first quarter, Barker sent the ball towards net, and it was redirected into the goal by Maya Tomko to give the Blue Jays a 2-0 advantage.

Midway through the second quarter, the home team struck again as Eryn Ross scored her first goal of the season with Ariana Komonaj providing the assist. The Blue Jays took all nine shots in the first half and drew five penalty corners while holding the Pride without any shots on two penalty corners.

The Blue Jays threatened to extend their lead throughout most of the third quarter, but the Pride defense prevented USJ from completing those opportunities. With just over one minute left in the period, the Pride drew a penalty corner, the ball worked its way around to Gracie Marsh (Orange, Mass.), whose entry pass was redirected into the net by Izzy Cochrane (Hooksett, N.H.) to cut into the USJ advantage.

Both teams had opportunities to score in the fourth quarter, but the score never changed in the final 15 minutes. USJ goalie Jaci Felix-Hull finished with two saves, both coming in the final period, while Allayna Martone (Elkridge, Md.) was credited with three saves in the second half after she took over for Sarai Velez (Everett, Mass.), who made one save in the first half.

Regis College (3-6, 2-4 GNAC) plays four home matches in a seven-day span, starting Thursday, Oct. 10, against Mount Holyoke College beginning at 7 p.m.