LORETTO, Pa, (Oct. 6, 2006) – The Saint Francis University Field Hockey team wasn’t leaving the field without its first win if sophomore Belen Albanes (Atlanta, GA/Dunwoody) had anything to do with it. As it turns out, she did, as the Red Flash downed conference-rival Robert Morris 2-1 at DeGol Field on Friday night.
“All of our forwards played really well,” said Flash head coach Liz deSimas. “Belen had an awesome game for us.”
‘Awesome’ might have been a bit of an understatement. Albanes scored both of her team’s goals; one with help from senior defender Katie Grogan (Allenwood, NJ/Wall) and the other was unassisted.
Something that didn’t show up in the box score however, was the all-out team effort that propelled SFU to victory.
“This was our first full game of the year,” said deSimas. “Towards the end of the first half we probably played our best field hockey of the season.”
While deSimas’ team held the end of the first half in check, the end of the second half wasn’t nearly as comfortable.
With just under two minutes to go in the regulation, Robert Morris fired three back-to-back-to-back shots off of a penalty corner. Sophomore goalkeeper Erin Reifsteck (Battle Creek, Mich./Saint Phillip), who had an impressive seven-save night when all was said and done, turned away all three shots before the Red Flash defense took control of the game.
“Leigh Ann Conroy (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) and Katie Grogan (Allenwood, N.J./Wall) helped us with a strong finish at the end of the game, but overall this was a huge team effort.”
The Red Flash have a nine-day layoff before they return to action on Oct. 15 to host Lock Haven.
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