ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta field hockey team earned another win on the season with a commanding 7-0 victory against Alfred University on Saturday, at All College Field. Junior
Alexandra Howell (Holtsville, N.Y./Sachem East) and graduate student
Caitlyn Caulfield (Albany, N.Y./Guilderland) both contributed two goals to lead the team to the win. In addition, junior
Jessica Owens (Poughquag, N.Y./Arlington) scored her first career goal as a Red Dragon and sophomore
Miranda Colacchio (Lagrange, N.Y.) recorded her first collegiate point with an assist on Owens' goal. This was Oneonta's fifth win in a row, improving their overall record to 5-1, while Alfred dropped to 0-5.
"Excellent team performance," said head coach
Kelly Kingsbury. "We focused on putting some strong passing patters together today and the girls really worked together and executed that plan."
Starting off strong, the Red Dragons immediately took and maintained possession of the ball in the first quarter. Following a penalty corner at 12:55, senior
Molly Miller (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) ripped the ball to Howell, who then wove through defenders to score the first goal of the game.
Throughout the rest of the game, points were vigorously scored against the Saxons from penalty corners. At 9:36, after Miller took the penalty, she circled the ball to her teammates around the arc, heading to junior
Abigail Draper (Remsen, NY/Holland Patent) who then whipped it to Howell on the right side of the shooting circle. Howell shot it through Alfred's goalie and scored her sixth goal of the season, the second goal of the game in Oneonta's favor.
Utilizing the same strategy, the next penalty corner was taken by junior
Sarah Stadelmann (East Syracuse, N.Y./East Syracuse Minoa) at 7:51, and she streamed the ball through opponents around the arc, handing it to Draper. Draper ripped the ball closer towards the goal where Caulfield was waiting and stroked it into the goal.
Oneonta continued to preserve possession and control of the ball heading into the second quarter. Caulfield effortlessly took hold of the ball from sophomore
Nora Trimarchi (South Glens Falls, N.Y./South Glens Falls) and cracked it into the middle of the cage for her fourth goal of the season, adding another point to their lead only thirty seconds into the second quarter, at 14:24.
The Saxons started to take hold of the ball after a penalty corner taken by Miller with 7:05 left in the second, but it was instantly redirected by Owens who passed it around the arc and lasered it to sophomore
Nina Contrera (Rochester, NY/Hilton). In a swift motion, Contrera shot it through the keeper's legs and scored her fifth goal of the season, increasing their lead to 5-0 heading into halftime.
After a monotonous third quarter, the Red Dragons escalated the pace of the game and gained two more goals in the fourth quarter. Oneonta had some shot attempts saved as Alfred started to piece it together on the defensive side but eventually the team gained their momentum back and pushed down the field, chalking up their sixth goal of the game by senior
Olivia Bonelli (Kerhonkson, N.Y./Rondout Valley) with a punctual assist from Howell.
To close out a triumphant match, Owens scored her first collegiate goal, weaving through defenders and taking hold of the ball off a pass from Colacchio. Owens came through from the left corner of the field and fired it into the cage with 1:20 remaining.
Senior
Maura Leib (East Syracuse, N.Y./East Syracuse Minoa) did not face a shot throughout the match as she recorded her second shutout of the season. Draper finished the game with two assists, and now leads the team with six on the season.
The Red Dragons displayed their hard work and dedication in today's game, finishing the match with a 22-0 advantage in total shots along with 14-0 in penalty corners.
The Red Dragons' next game is on Wednesday, September 17, when they host Wilkes at 6 pm on All College Field.
