Miami Secures 2018 Field Hockey Regular Season Title
Sunday's Scoreboard
Miami 5, Ohio 0
Louisville 3, Kent State 1
Bucknell 3, Appalachian State 2
Stories Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Miami 5, Ohio 0
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University field hockey team (13-6, 6-0 MAC) shut out Ohio on Sunday by a 5-0 margin. With this win, Miami claimed sole possession of the regular season MAC Championship for the second-straight season.
Ten minutes into the game, the RedHawks earned the first penalty corner but could not capitalize.
Mariona Heras put Miami on the board in the 15th minute of play with her fourth goal of the season. Heras took the ball into the circle and beat Alex Pennington from the right side of the cage.
Just two minutes later, Noor Breedijk scored her first collegiate goal to increase the RedHawks lead to two goals. Breedijk beat Pennington with a low, hard shot from a couple steps inside of the top of the circle.
With lightning detected in the area, the game was delayed for 30 minutes after Miami's second goal.
In the 19th minute of play, Morgan Sturm got the ball past Pennington but Leah Warren registered a defensive save to keep Sturm's shot out of the back of the cage.
Kenzie Peterson scored her third goal of the season post-lightning delay on a short pass from Avery Sturmin front of the cage during the 22nd minute of play.
Ohio took its only shot of the game during the 25th minute of play but Maddie Passarella turned it aside to preserve the shutout.
Paula Portugal increased Miami's lead to 4-0 just 15 seconds before the end of the first half. Estel Roigfound Portugal with a long pass up the middle of the field. Portugal took it into the circle and put away her 22nd goal of the season.
The RedHawks led the first half in shots (17-1), shots on goal (11-1) and penalty corners (5-0).
Less than two minutes into the second half, Lexi Silver had a spin-around shot that beat Pennington to cap the scoring for the game at 5-0. Silver received a pass from Portugal on the play.
Three minutes later, Miami kept the offensive pressure on by earning back-to-back penalty corners but the resulting shot from Heras was blocked before reaching the cage.
The 'Hawks earned another penalty corner with under seven to play but the resulting shot was blocked before reaching Pennington. Miami kept possession of the ball for much of the remainder of the game but Pennington registered two more saves and a couple shots sailed wide.
The RedHawks led the game in shots (26-1), shots on goal (15-1) and penalty corners (9-0). Passarella registered her seventh shutout of the season. Portugal led Miami with nine shots, five of those making it on cage, and three points.
The MAC Tournament, hosted at Miami, begins on Wednesday, October 31. The top-seeded RedHawks play on Friday, November 2 against the winner of the fourth and fifth-seed matchup.
Louisville 3, Kent State 1
Box Score
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State University field hockey team (7-11, 5-1 MAC) ended the regular season with a 3-1 loss to No. 11 Louisville (13-5, 3-3 ACC) on Sunday afternoon. The Flashes' lone goal was scored by freshman Luisa Knapp, her second of the season, while sophomore Emma Bressler recorded the assist.
The Flashes took an early 1-0 lead off the stick of Knapp in the 19th minute of play. On a penalty corner, sophomore Emma Bressler fired a shot that was Knapp tipped into the corner of the cage. The Cardinals responded in the 34th minute on a direct corner to tie the game, 1-1, leading into the halftime break.
The Cardinals took control of the game in the second half, adding two goals to bring the final score to 3-1. Louisville netted its first goal of the half in the 44th minute on a penalty corner and added its final goal in the 66thminute from the front of the cage.
Louisville held a 10-5 advantage over the Flashes in shot attempts as well as a 4-1 advantage in penalty corners. Five different Flashes took shots on the day, all on goal. Junior Mary Crumlish recorded four saves in the cage for the Flashes.
Kent State celebrated Senior Day prior to the contest, recognizing the team's five seniors, Aileen Ahlers, Jessica Apelt, Pippa Best, Helen Harper, and Courtney Weise.
The Flashes will continue the season, competing in the Mid-American Conference Tournament in Oxford, Ohio as the No. 2 seed on Friday, Nov. 2 at 2:30 p.m. The tournament will field all seven conference teams in a single elimination bracket.
Bucknell 3, Appalachian State 2
Box Score
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Despite a valiant second-half comeback, Appalachian State University field hockey (5-13, 1-5 MAC) suffered a 3-2 defeat at Bucknell on Sunday.
The Mountaineers trailed 3-0 with less than five minutes remaining, but the Black and Gold responded with a pair of scores to cut Bucknell's lead to 3-2. Sophomore Veerle Van Heertum cut the host's lead to 3-1 when she netted a solo goal with less than two minutes remaining. Less than a minute later, redshirt-freshman Jillian Ulery registered her first goal of 2018, trimming Bucknell's lead to 3-2. Freshman Ines Yofre notched her first career assist on Ulery's goal.
The Bison then withstood the Mountaineers' pressure in the final minute to record their 10th victory of the season.
App State outshot the Bison 10-5 in the second half. The Mountaineers also held a 5-1 advantage in penalty corners in the second half.
"Today was an exciting game against a really tough Bucknell team," head coach Meghan Dawson said. "We fought all game as a team and were able to capitalize in the attack circle. We also had some earlier opportunities that we just couldn't get toward the cage."
Six Mountaineers fired a shot, including Van Heertum (three), Meghan Smart (two), Melissa Nobile (two), Ali Williams (one), Brenna Schoenbachler (one) and Ulery (one). Van Heertum and Smart tied for a team-high two shots on target apiece.
Sophomore Annette Jarosz closed out another impressive performance with her sixth defensive save of the season. With her stop against the Bison, Jarosz moves into second place in Mountaineers' history with 11 defensive saves in her career.
Bucknell opened the scoring in the 17th minute, taking a 1-0 advantage into halftime. The Bison then netted a pair of second-half scores in a three-minute span, recording goals in the 56th and 59th minutes.
Kaelyn Long's solo goal in the 59th minute proved to be the game-winner. The Bison only registered five total shots in the second half.
App State begins postseason play at noon Wednesday against Central Michigan. All MAC tournament games will be played at Miami in Oxford, Ohio.
