Click here for Box Score
Click here for Highlights

Lawrenceville, NJ - The Northeast Conference Field Hockey Championship game will have a familiar look to it again. Third-seeded Monmouth scored three unanswered goals to overcome an early 1-0 deficit and defeat No. 2 Saint Francis (PA), 3-1, in the NEC Semifinals, sending the Hawks to their fourth straight NEC Final.
 
Monmouth (8-12) will face either No. 1 Rider or No. 4 Quinnipiac Saturday afternoon at Ben Cohen Field on Rider University’s campus in Lawrenceville, NJ. Saint Francis (PA), meanwhile, ends its season at 12-6, marking one of the best campaigns in school history.
 
Taking the first meeting by a 4-1 count back in early October, it looked as if Saint Francis (PA) was going to make it two straight over the Hawks when it broke the ice in the 14th minute. NEC Rookie of the Year Selena Adamshick (Harveys Lake, PA/Lake-Lehman) gave the Red Flash the early lead on a broken corner attempt, receiving a pass from NEC Defensive Player of the Year Carissa Makea (Auckland, New Zealand/Rosehill College) and scoring on a blast from the left point.
 
The Hawks, however, didn’t appear to be phased by the early tally as they evened the slate and then some with their first of three goals over a span of 14 minutes and 33 seconds.
 
Orla Macken (Dublin, Ireland/Rathdown School) made it a 1-1 game thanks to a feed from Alex Carroll (Oceanport, NJ/Shore Regional) that she sent far post past the SFPA goalkeeper, Katelyn Vitali (Bel Air, MD/C. Milton Wright), at the 19:21 mark. NEC Player of the Year Michelle Pieczynski (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks West) followed up the blast with one of her own – and her 18th of the season – less than two minutes later, tipping in Kimmy Baligian’s (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central) rebound on the goal line to make it a 2-1 game.
 
Pieczynski then returned the favor to Baligian with a through ball that the sophomore forward chipped past the netminder on a rush with 1:06 to play in the half.
 
Despite an offensive-minded first half, the scoring would end there as both teams played to a scoreless draw in the second. Monmouth’s Teresa Mathews (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) was one of the main reasons Monmouth kept the high-scoring Red Flash at bay, posting three of her five saves in the second stanza. Vitali, on the other hand, matched the junior’s output with five of her own, including four in the first half.
 
For the game, both teams tied in the shot category, taking 10 attempts apiece. SFPA held a 14-8 advantage in corner attempts. Individually, Baligian and Pieczynski led all scorers with three points apiece.