Field Hockey Felled at Villanova, 3-0

Sunday, September 1

Conshohocken, Pa. / Villanova Field Hockey Field

Noon

Sacred Heart

(0-2)

Villanova

(1-1)

Sacred Heart

Villanova

Photo by: Greg Vasil

9/1/2024 4:15:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

Maresca matches career high with 14 saves

By: Matthew Janik

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. (September 1, 2024) – Samantha Maresca (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) was a busy Pioneer on Sunday afternoon at Villanova Field Hockey Field. The senior goalkeeper matched her career high with 14 saves, and Megan Albert (Lansdale, Pa.) chipped in a defensive save for good measure, as the Sacred Heart University field hockey team's defense was under siege throughout. Host Villanova struck once early and then twice in the second half, all while posting an 18-1 advantage on shots on goal, on the way to a 3-0 non-conference victory.

For Maresca, it made back-to-back double-digit save outings to start the season. She finished the weekend with 24 stops against 29 shots on goal, after making 10 saves at Drexel on Friday. It was the sixth game of 10 or more saves for Maresca in her career. The 14 saves matched her career high, which she initially set on Aug. 26, 2023, against Syracuse. For Albert, it was her third career defensive save, and her first in nearly a year, as the previous one came at Lehigh on Sept. 10, 2023.

Villanova (1-1) got the only goal it would need just 3:17 into the proceedings, on a corner play. Gemma Lysaght and Raina Smolij combined to set up the first goal of the season for Emma Schwarz. Villanova would go on to run up advantages of 28-4 in shot attempts and 18-1 in shots on goal, as Sacred Heart (0-2) struggled to get anything going in the offensive end.

The Wildcats tacked on a pair of insurance markers in the fourth quarter to win going away, 3-0. In the 46^th minute, it was another corner goal, as Lysaght and Smolij again set things up, this time for Meghan Mitchell, who finished off her first of the campaign. Later, in the 56^th minute, Sabine de Ruijter capped the scoring with an unassisted tally, her first of the season.

Maresca (0-2) finished with 14 saves against 17 shots on her goal, while Albert added the defensive save. For Villanova, Maddi Sears (1-1) turned aside the only shot on her cage to notch her first collegiate shutout.

SHU is back on the road for two more games next weekend, beginning with its Northeast Conference opener at 1 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6, at Mercyhurst. The Pioneers will also travel to Bryant for a non-conference tilt on Sunday, Sept. 8, at 3 p.m.