The Slippery Rock University women’s field hockey team got out to a 2-0 start for the first time since 1997 with two dominating wins over Assumption College (3-1) and American International College (6-1) last weekend.
With Kaitlin McGinnis’s strong performance last weekend, she earned herself Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division Athlete of the Week.
McGinnis started her junior year out on a good note, matching her career-high four goals in a season by scoring four goals last weekend alone.
McGinnis had help from all her teammates throughout the weekend with Courtney Bradshaw scoring two goals, and Rebecca Williams, Lauren Geiser, and Kelsey Gustafson each scoring one apiece.
Goalies Courtney Lee and Carlee DuMars both spent time in the net only giving up one goal apiece all weekend.
Head coach Julie Swiney was very satisfied with her team’s ability to score goals and how well they played as a team over the weekend.
“We take the season one game at a time and always have room for improvement,” Swiney said. “This week we will look to focus on what we learned about ourselves this weekend.”
Senior midfielder Gabrielle Malishchak was ecstatic about the performance of the team this past weekend and is excited to see what the team can do with the rest of the season.
“Starting off our season 2-0 for the first time since 1997 is a huge accomplishment for us and we’re humbled by it,” Malishchak said. “We’re planning to take the season one game at a time, preparing thoroughly for our competition and sticking to the game plan our coaches layout for us each day.”
“We’re improving every day and this weekend was full of passing connections, tough defense, reaching our personal goals and playing together as one unit,” she said. “We can only hope and do our absolute best to continue the momentum in the weeks to come.”
The Rock will look to continue their winning streak today as they host Mercy College at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
