SRU field hockey shut-out the Bellarmine Knights 2-0 Sunday afternoon to earn head coach Julie Swiney’s her 50th win as head coach for The Rock.
“It feels good,” said Swiney about her 50th win. “A wins a win and I’m just happy that we won today.”
The Green and White improve their record to 3-2 on the season as freshman goalie Maddie Murphy played a full game, picking up her first career collegiate shutout. The freshman had just six shots come her way, with three of the six shots being on net.
Near the end of the first half with 1:24 left, The Rock got on the board first with a goal by freshman forward Courtney Page, with an assist from fellow freshman forward Kayla Ulrich on a down low shot as the goalie came out to challenge.
It was a balanced day for The Rock offense as they managed seven shot attempts in each half, with 11 of the total shots making it on net. After Page’s goal, a defensive battle ensued, but The Rock defense completely shut down the Knight’s offense in the second half, allowing no shots to make it on net in the final 35 minutes.
“I think they had good speed on the forward line,” said Swiney. “That was a challenge a little bit, but we were going to deny them the ball and that was helpful.”
It wasn’t until there were 12 seconds left in the game when SRU added an insurance goal from Ulrich to make it a 2-0 game. Ulrich’s goal came unassisted, giving her three points on the afternoon, taking her season total to three goals and one assist (seven points).
The Rock defense has kept pace this season, holding opponents to 33 shots on goal with 52 attempts through five games. For the offense, the Green and White have managed 52 shots on 75 attempts through five games, to take their shot on goal percentage to .693.
“We didn’t anticipate anything,” said Swiney. “So we just tried to prepare and play our game plan and we did our best to do that.”
After Sunday, the Green and White sit at 8th place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), however just five games into the season. The Rock’s next matchup will come Wednesday as the team travels to Washington, Pa. to take on Washington and Jefferson College at 7:00 p.m.
