Conference

Summer is gone, and Autumn is making noise at Saint Francis (PA).  Freshman Autumn Pellman (Millerstown, PA) scored a goal in each of the Red Flash’s three games last week.  Every one of her goals either tied the game and put the Flash out in front.  The three-goal week bumped her rookie season total to six tallies, which tie her with Rider’s Megan Pisani (Plainsboro, NJ) for seventh on the NEC leader board.

 

Robert Morris has scored 18 goals in 11 games thus far this season, and 14 of them have come off the sticks of Australian-born players.  Pennsylvanian Chantele Crow (Dauphin, PA/Central Dauphin) and Jamie Hartley (Tamworth, Australia) lead the team with four tallies. Meanwhile, Aussies Michelle Lewthwaite (Macarthur, Australia) and Taleah Scott (Crookwell, Australia) have rattled the cage three times apiece.  Thanks to a strong veteran presence coupled with the young Aussie influence, Robert Morris is on pace for a record season.  With six victories to their credit, the Colonials have already surpassed their win total (4) for all of the 2010 season and have broken the program’s single-season record for wins which was set in 2008.

 

Defending NEC champion Rider topped the league’s preseason coaches’ poll for the second consecutive year, but Garden State rival Monmouth wasn’t far behind.  Rider received four first-place votes to finish just ahead of Monmouth, last year’s NEC Tournament runner-up.  Quinnipiac, which pulled in the remaining two first-place nods took third in the summertime survey of the conference’s eight head coaches.  The poll has accurately predicted the NEC Tournament champion in each of the past five seasons.

 

OVERALL RECORD: 4-5, 0-0 NEC - RECORD LAST WEEK: 2-1

LAST WEEK’S OPPONENTS:  W, 3-2 at Brown (Sep. 20); W, 4-0 vs. Colgate (Sep. 24); L, 2-1 at Harvard (Sep. 25)

THIS WEEK’S OPPONENTS:  Oct. 1 vs LaSalle

 

• Bryant went 2-1 since Sept. 19, earning its first-ever victory against Brown University on Tuesday, Sept. 20, and taking down Colgate, 4-0, on Sept. 24 before dropping a hard-fought 2-1 decision to Harvard yesterday.

• Bryant’s 2.44 goals per game scoring average ranks third in the NEC

• The Bulldogs rank second in the conference in defensive saves, with 0.78 per game. Junior Rachel Blitz (Riverwoods, IL) is  major reason why, leading the team and ranking second in the conference with six defensive saves.

• BIRD’S THE WORD - Freshman Rosie Bird (Hamilton, New Zealand) hasn’t slowed down a bit since the season’s start.  She has moved to first place amongst NEC goal scorers in goals per game.  Bird has notched nine markers in the first nine games of her collegiate career.  The NEC Rookie of the Week scored thrice in 2 wins for Bryant last week.
 

OVERALL RECORD: 7-4, 0-0 NEC - RECORD LAST WEEK: 2-1

LAST WEEK’S OPPONENTS:  W, 3-2 Delaware (Sep. 21); L, 2-1 vs. #16 Albany (Sep. 24); W, 2-1 at Temple (Sep. 25)

THIS WEEK’S OPPONENTS:  Oct. 2 vs. Georgetown

 

• MU had its five-game winning streak snapped as it fell to No. 16 Albany, 2-1, on neutral ground at Lafayette College on Sept. 24.  The Hawks’ started the week with a 3-2 overtime victory at Delaware before falling to the Great Danes and wrapped up their three-game week with win at Temple on Sept. 25.

• The one-goal loss to Albany is the lowest scoring margin MU has ever posted against a nationally-ranked opponent in the program’s 15-year history.

• Goalie Teresa Mathews (Lumberton, NJ/Rancocas Valley) has made all 11 starts this season, compiling over 790 minutes between the pipes, making 67 saves.  Mathews has a 1.95 goals against average and a .753 save percentage.

• Michelle Pieczynski (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks West) led the Hawks’ offense this week with eight points on four goals, including her second hat trick of the season against Delaware.

• SOPHOMORE SURGE - Sophomores Alex Carroll (Oceanport, NJ/Shore) & Patricia O’Dwyer (Dublin Ireland) both tallied goals in the win over temple (Sep. 25).  O’Dwyer’s goal came with 00:03 left in regulation, allowing MU to escape Philadelphia with a 2-1 victory.

 

OVERALL RECORD: 6-3, 0-0 NEC - RECORD LAST WEEK: 1-1

LAST WEEK’S OPPONENTS: W, 3-1 at Columbia (Sep. 21); L, 3-2 (OT) vs. #14 Maine (Sep. 25)

THIS WEEK’S OPPONENTS: Oct. 2 at Lafayette

 

• Senior Kaitlyn Notarianni (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) led the Bobcats with two goals and an assist over two games for a five-point week. Notarianni scored once in the Bobcats’ 3-1 non-conference win against Columbia and logged an assist. Against nationally-ranked Maine, Notarianni broke a scoreless tie with her fifth goal of the season to give Quinnipiac a 1-0 lead in the second half. It was her 18th goal of her career.

• Jess Rusin (Garwood, NJ) tallied two goals against Columbia, which proved to be the difference in the Bobcats’ 3-1 win on Wednesday, Sept. 21. Through Quinnipiac’s first nine games, Rusin has seven goals and one assist for 15 points – passing her freshman total of four goals and one assist.

• Quinnipiac’s six non-conference wins this season ties its Division I record for victories against teams outside of the Northeast Conference. The Bobcats won six non-conference games in 2003.

• Ashley Gradwell (Fogelsville, PA) scored her first career goal against Maine when she picked up a rebound off of Maine’s goalie and poked the ball between her pads to tie the game against the nationally-ranked Black Bears and send it to overtime.

• GK Nicole Lewis (East Amherst, NY) was 1-1 with a .895 save percentage, stopping 34 of 38 shots on goal. For the year, Lewis leads the Northeast Conference in save percentage (.779).             

 

OVERALL RECORD: 7-1, 0-0 NEC - RECORD LAST WEEK: 2-0

LAST WEEK’S OPPONENT: W, 6-0 at Bucknell (Sep. 24); W, 3-2 at Lock Haven (Sep. 25)

THIS WEEK’S OPPONENTS: Sep. 28 at Villanova; Oct. 2 at Lehigh

 

• Former NEC rivals, Rider had only defeated the Lady Eagles of Lock Haven once in eight tries before winning 1-0 in double overtime to claim the 2009 NEC Regular Season Title. This past weekend Rider posted its second win in a row over the Lady Eagles with a come from behind 3-2 win behind a goal and assist from junior Marlaine Schneider (Feasterville, PA) and the game-winner from senior Virginia Egusquiza (Getxo, Spain).

• Senior Megan Pisani (Plainsboro, NJ) scored a career-high four goals in Rider’s 6-0 win at Bucknell. The four goals are the most for a Rider player in a game since Stephanie Walker scored four times in a 9-0 win against Catawba on August 28, 2005.  Pisani now has four career hat tricks.

• Making a list, checking it twice:  Egusquiza and Pisani continue their ascent up Rider’s all-time scoring list; Pisani has 93 points (43 goals, 7 assists) and is in seventh place and Egusquiza has 119 points (35 goals, 49 assists) and is in fifth place behind Julie Hicks (53g, 19a) who had 125 points from 1989-1992.

• HOT, HOT, HOT - After losing at Hofstra on September 11, Rider (7-1) has won three straight games, including road contests at Bucknell and Lock Haven this past week.

 

OVERALL RECORD: 6-5, 0-0 NEC - RECORD LAST WEEK: 1-1

LAST WEEK’S OPPONENT: L, 3-0 at Davidson (Sep. 24); W, 4-3 at App. St. (Sep. 25)

THIS WEEK’S OPPONENTS:   Sep. 30 at Stanford; Oct. 2 at Pacific

 

• Junior goalkeeper Paige Neat (Louisville, KY) picked up her first victory of the season in Sunday’s 4-3 win over Appalachian State.

• RMU point leader Taleah Scott (Crookwell, Australia) added a goal and an assist in the win over ASU, improving her season mark to 14 points (3G, 8A).

• Robert Morris heads out west in the coming weekend, taking on nationally-ranked Stanford and Pacific.  

• Freshman middie Jamie Hartley (Tamworth, Australia) scored a pair during Sunday’s 4-3 win over Appalachian State. Hartley, who is second on the Robert Morris squad this season with 12 points (four goals, four assists), finished the day with a game high four shots on goal.

• RECORD YEAR - The Colonials’ six wins in 2011 have already topped the program’s previous single-season record. Robert Morris won five games in the 2008 season.

 

OVERALL RECORD: 3-6, 0-0 NEC - RECORD LAST WEEK: 1-1

LAST WEEK’S OPPONENTS:  L,2-0 at Fairfield (Sep. 21); W, 6-4 vs. Lehigh (Sep. 23)

THIS WEEK’S OPPONENTS:  Oct. 1 vs Lock Haven; Oct. 2 vs. LaSalle

 

• Lindsay Kasten (Fair Haven, NJ) scored two goals in the final minute, one the game-winner and another to provide insurance, to give SHU a 6-4 win over Lehigh in the Pioneers first game on Campus Field.  She added an assist as well.

• Hannah Robinson (Watertown, MA) also scored two goals with an assist in the game, scoring SHU’s first two goals.

• Nikki Kimborowicz (Biddeford, ME) and Jen O’Malley (Boston, MA) both scored their first goals of the season.

• The Pioneers went 4-for-10 on penalty corner opportunities.    

 

OVERALL RECORD: 2-8, 0-0 NEC - RECORD LAST WEEK: 1-2

LAST WEEK’S OPPONENTS:  L, 3-1 at Lock Haven (Sep. 21); L, 2-1 vs. LaSalle (Sep. 24); W, 3-2 vs. Georgetown (Sep. 25)

THIS WEEK’S OPPONENTS:  Sep. 28 vs. Lock Haven; Oct. 2 at Towson

 

• The Red Flash have enjoyed their home field this season with a record of 2-1 at DeGol Field but have struggled on the road to the tune of an 0-6 mark.

• SFU wraps up a three-game home stand on Sept. 28 against in-state rival Lock Haven.

• The win against Georgetown was the first-ever for the Flash. In the previous five meetings, SFU totaled just three total goals a mark they matched Sunday.

• In three home games this season, Saint Francis has seven goals on the road they have just six in seven games.

 

LAST WEEK’S OPPONENTS: L, 8-0 vs. #16 Albany (Sep. 21); L, 4-1 at Vermont (Sep. 24)

THIS WEEK’S OPPONENTS: Sep. 28 at Lehigh; Oct. 2 vs. Saint Joseph’s

 

• Siena dropped two more games last week, falling to #16 UAlbany Wednesday and at Vermont.

• Sophomore goalkeeper Beth Meyers (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) tallied 33 saves in the two games.

• Senior co-captain Sarah Szewczyk (West Ossipee, NH/Kingswood Regional) scored her first goal of the season against the Catamounts.

• Siena hits the road for a contest at Lehigh, then returns to the Capital Region for a neutral site affair with Saint Joseph’s.