Oct. 12, 2008

Final Stats

Fairfield, CT - Senior Carisa Eye (Nesconset, NY) scored all four goal Sacred Heart goals, including the game winner in overtime, and senior Whitney Mills (Harrisburg, PA) made nine second-half saves as Sacred Heart blew a three goal lead but recovered in overtime to post a 4-3 win over Monmouth in Northeast Conference field hockey action Sunday afternoon at Campus Field.

Sacred Heart came flying out of the gate at the start of the game, as Eye needed just over 12 minutes to record her eighth career hat trick. The first tally came at the 3:16 mark when Eye batted home a rebound following a shot by Kelsey Zeyher (Poughkeepsie, NY).

Eye's next two goals came in similar fashion. First, in the 12th minute sophomore Jessica Garcia (Freehold, NJ) sent a pass in from the top of the circle on the right side. Eye was standing to the left of the net and one-timed the ball past Hawks goalkeeper Melissa Katz. Just 42 seconds later, senior Melissa Mazin (Putnam Valley, NY) gave Eye a perfect cross-field centering pass and Eye whacked home another score giving the Pioneers a 3-0 lead.

SHU out-shot Monmouth 7-2 in the first half and looked like they might cruise to an easy victory. However, Monmouth completely turned the tables and dominated the second half, out-shooting the Pioneers 14-2 after intermission.

It took Monmouth less than five minutes to score three goals and tie the game. Sarah Keppel got the Hawks comeback started with a rebound goal in the 57th minute following a shot by Enza Mazza. Two minutes later, Nora Bosmans converted a penalty stroke attempt to get Monmouth to within one. In the 61st minute, Mazza carried the ball into the circle and lifted it over a sprawled out Mills to even the score and send the Hawks bench into a frenzy.

Eye's game winner came 2:40 in the overtime period. Sophomore Dana Luhrs (Milford, PA) hit her with a perfect long pass up-field and Eye turned and backhanded the ball into the net for the decisive tally. Eye has now scored goals in six of her last seven games and leads the team with 17 tallies on the season.

The Pioneers are back in action Friday when they host Siena. Game time at Campus Field is set for 4:00 pm.