The Slippery Rock University field hockey team battled hard Tuesday in a home game against Seton Hill and emerged with a 4-3 victory. The win boosts the Green and White’s record to 5-12 overall and 2-7 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference play. Seton Hill continues to struggle as they drop to 1-14 overall and 0-9 in PSAC play.
After over 15 minutes of stingy defensive play, junior Abby McKay registered The Rock’s first goal of the day after converting a pass from Ulrich into a 1-0 SRU lead. Seton Hill was quick to respond however, as the Griffins’ Zyah Newsome struck back with a goal of her less than two minutes after McKay’s goal.
What once looked like a defensive showdown between two PSAC rivals quickly descended into an offensive outburst from both teams.
After assisting on The Rock’s first goal of the day, Ulrich put a goal of her own past the Seton Hill goaltender under a minute later, giving The Rock another brief one goal lead.
A theme of the later portion of the first half, Seton Hill was able to navigate through the Slippery Rock defense before sending the equalizer past sophomore goaltender Hannah Nurse to tie the game up at 2-2 heading into halftime.
After allowing two goals in the first half, Nurse did not return the game, giving an opportunity to junior Maddie Murphy to handle the goaltending duties for the team.
Slippery Rock was able to execute in all facets of the game in the second half, as they shut down any hope for a Seton Hill comeback after netting two consecutive goals, courtesy of Kayla Ulrich and junior forward Courtney Page.
While the offense scored two goals to give some insurance to a potential SRU win, Murphy was able to hold steady in front of the net, denying the Griffins of a goal in her 25:49 of game time. With 4:11 remaining in the fourth quarter, Murphy gave way to freshman Taylor Page.
Page ended her day by allowing one goal while also making a crucial save. The final four minutes served as valuable experience for Page, as she was able to preserve a 4-3 Slippery Rock victory.
Slippery Rock was able to outmatch Seton Hill in multiple categories in Tuesday’s game, including total shots (13-6), shots on goal (10-4) and penalty corners (13-5).
Some notable statistics include Ulrich’s career day, as she was able to net two goals as well as recording an assist, breaking a 10-game point drought. The Rock’s 13 shots on goal are the most the team has recorded since October 5th, where the team recorded 22 shots in a 3-0 victory over Frostburg State.
Slippery Rock field hockey will look to end the season on a high note as they take on No. 5 Shippensburg to Mihalik-Thompson stadium on Friday at 4 p.m.
