Rutgers Field Hockey Cannot Sustain Lead, Falls to Monmouth
Sep 19 | Field Hockey
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (September 19, 2010) – The Rutgers field hockey team grabbed an early lead, but could not hold onto it as they dropped a 4-3 decision to Monmouth on Sunday afternoon at the Bauer Track and Field Complex. The Scarlet Knights moved to 1-7 while the Hawks improved to 6-1.
“We sat on the lead and that is obviously not good in any sport that you play. You have to take care of the momentum shifts and understand game management,” said head coach Liz Tchou. “In the second half, we beat ourselves. We were not able to be as composed as we needed to be on the defensive end. Pockets of time were lost in the second half.”
The Scarlet Knights drew first blood just a minute into the contest when sophomore forward Gia Nappi (Fairfield, N.J.) drew the defense away from teammate Nicole Gentile (Jamison, Pa.). Gentile tipped the ball into the cage for a 1-0 RU lead.
Rutgers added to its advantage at the 7:41 mark off a goal by Nappi, the first of her career, on a scramble in front of the cage.
The Hawks scored the next two consecutive scores, both coming from freshman Alex Carroll on identical penalty corner plays. Carroll took the stop to the left of the circle and fired two hard shots, hitting the far right and the far center of the cage for her fourth and fifth goals of the season.
Tied at 2-2 at the half, Monmouth used a defensive misstep to take the lead with 27:45 to play. Forward Kimmy Baligian hit from straightway to move the visitors ahead by a goal.
RU knotted the contest for the second time in a series that originated from a penalty corner. A shot by Nappi was halted by Hawks goalkeeper Melissa Katz, who stretched out to stop the ball. The rebound bounced to RU junior midfielder Kat Rodziewicz (Ocean, N.J.), who found the back of the cage for the equalizer.
The Hawks scored the game-winner with less than 12 minutes to play. Baligian recorded her second tally of the game, converting a rebound opportunity that put MU ahead to stay at 4-3.
Tchou added, “We have to pick it up in practice and put more pressure on each other to get better. That is in our control to figure out how we can get better this week - to perform the drills and communicate with each other more efficiently.”
Rutgers next entertains Villanova on Friday, Sept. 24 at 4 p.m.
