The College's field hockey team made the best of a dreary, rain-filled week by picking up a huge victory against a ranked opponent, and also getting a little rest.
The Lions' lone game last week was on Tuesday at home against No. 20 Kean University. The College got the scoring going early, and never looked back.
Freshman forward Katie Reuther scored to put the Lions ahead 14:42 into the game. One minute later, fellow freshman midfielder Jenna Durante scored, assisted by junior midfielders Meg Hess and Jess Berkowitz, to give the Lions a quick 2-0 lead.
The Lions added to their lead when freshman forward Jenny Lubin scored off of a beautiful pass from freshman midfielder Kelly Mitchell 6:02 into the second half.
Kean added another goal to make the score 3-1, but the Lions put the metaphorical nail in the coffin with two goals in the final 20 minutes by Berkowitz and junior forward Allison Greene. The four-goal margin of victory was the second largest for the team this year.
Head coach Sharon Pfluger said she was very pleased with the way her team performed on Tuesday. "I thought we played very well," she said. "We capitalized on most of our scoring opportunities, and that's what we need to do to win."
Senior goalie Kristina Beyel, who collected three saves on the day, said she saw her offense do some impressive things on the other side of the field. "We played really great," she said, "especially the offense. They were connecting very well with each other and the ball."
After the game on Tuesday, the Lions had a week off. Pfluger said that time off was necessary and good for her team.
"On Wednesday we had a well-deserved day off," she said. "On Thursday and Friday, we ran practice a little easier than normal, but they were still very productive. Saturday, I gave the girls off and then we practiced on Sunday again. It was a good mental break for us, but we were able to focus on some of the important things we need to work on."
Freshman midfielder Erin Buchanan agreed that the week off was good for the team. "I think the time off was good because the team has definitely had its share of injuries, and we needed some recovery time," she said. "Also, we got to work on important things such as stepping up to the ball, which has been a major focus for us all year."
Beyel had a different perspective on the rainy week off. "The break was definitely good for us," she said. "It gives us an opportunity to enjoy some of our big wins before jumping into the next game."
After the rest period, the Lions head into the final stretch of their schedule. Saturday they will travel to square off against Montclair State University 1 p.m.
