BROCKPORT, NY – Brooke Singer (Johnson City, NY/Maine-Endwell) had a natural hat trick on Saturday evening, providing the third, fourth, and fifth goals of the game as the Hartwick field hockey team ran by Brockport State on the road, 5-0. The win moves the Hawks to 4-1, matching their record through five games from last season, while the Golden Eagles lose their first game of 2019 and drop to 4-1.
Bella Wheeler (Cazenovia, NY/Cazenovia) had the first shot of the game just 24 seconds in, which needed saving by keeper Megan Petersen, but it was Sydney Gagnon (Chestertown, NY/North Warren Central) who continued her impressive rookie campaign with the opening (and eventual game-winning) goal. Gagnon sent one to the left of Petersen at 2:49 to give 'Wick a 1-0 lead. After a couple of Brockport shots went wide in the sixth and seventh minutes, Hartwick scored again at 9:39. Wheeler fed one in from the left side after a Rebecca Peakes (West Chester, PA/Unionville) shot from the top of the circle, the first of three Peakes assists on the day. Shots on target from Allyson Quirk (Longmeadow, MA/Longmeadow) and Katie Meuse (Londonderry, NH/Londonderry) made up the rest of the action in the first quarter as the Hawks led 2-0 after 15 minutes.
Brockport dominated the action early on in the second quarter, with five penalty corners and a pair of shots, neither of which required stopping from Hartwick goalie Allyson Osborne (Nottingham, PA/Solanco). The Hawks then turned up the pressure, and after shots by Gagnon and Meuse around the five minute mark, they drew a corner. Peakes took it and sent a ball to Singer at the top of the circle, who promptly rocketed one to the back of the cage like she has done so many times before, making it 3-0 at 20:10. 'Wick kept shooting after their third goal, putting up nine shots to Brockport's one over the final 8:50 of the half, but had to settle for a three-goal lead at the break.
The Golden Eagles made a goalie switch to start the second half, inserting Cara Fox to replace Petersen, but it did not deter Peakes and Singer from connecting for another goal off a corner, this one from the middle of the circle at 33:28. Osborne kept it a four-goal lead by stopping two Katelynn Mello shots early on in the 35th minute. The rest of the quarter saw mostly muted action around the nets, and the Hawks took a 4-0 lead in the fourth.
Hartwick continued to control play early on in the final quarter, with two shots on goal by Meuse and a blocked shot from Gagnon. Singer potted her third of the day at 54:34, completing her first career hat trick. This one also came on a corner, this time off the stick of Chrissy Boeltz (Greene, NY/Greene Central). A wide shot from Mello was the only scoring chance for the rest of the game, as the final horn sounded with 'Wick up 5-0.
Gagnon again led the Hawks in shots, this time tying Meuse with six each (they had two and five shots on goal, respectively). Singer had five shots (four on net), as did Quirk, who put all of hers on target. Osborne secured her first shutout since October 19 of last season against Morrisville, making four saves through all sixty minutes in net.
Mello was the most impactful Golden Eagle, putting five shots up, two on net. She was the only Brockport player with more than one shot on goal. Petersen had a busy thirty minutes in net, making 11 saves and letting in three goals in the first half. Fox stopped three shots and let up two tallies in the final two quarters.
Hartwick had a hefty 26-10 shot advantage, as well as a 19-4 lead in shots on goal. The two squads tied in penalty corners earned at eight each, but the Hawks were a lot more productive with their opportunities, as four of their five goals came shortly after corners.
The Hawks are back at it on Wednesday, September 18, when they host SUNY Oswego for a 4 p.m. game at Wright Stadium.
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