LORETTO, Pa. (Oct. 16, 2009) – Tia Dudukovich’s (State College, Pa./State College Area) first career goal gave the Saint Francis field hockey team a 1-0 victory over Northeast Conference foe Siena on a snowy Friday afternoon in Loretto.

The win, the Red Flash’s second of the season, also marked sophomore goalkeeper Katelyn Vitali’s (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) first career shut out.  It also moved the Flash to 2-12 overall and 2-2 in the NEC.

Neither goalkeeper saw much action in the first half, with the two teams combining for just three total shots. 

With 15 minutes remaining in the game, Dudukovich sent a penalty corner over to junior midfielder Eileen Paccione (Red Hook, N.Y./Red Hook).  Paccione passed the ball over to fellow junior Rebecca Reiff (Wall, N.J./Wall), who sent it over to Dudukovich.  The freshman midfielder then put the ball past Siena goalkeeper Renee Calvette to put the Red Flash up 1-0.

While they were able to maintain their lead, the Vitali and the Red Flash backfield were tested numerous times in the final seconds of the game.  The Saints took four penalty corners in the final seconds, but could not put the ball in, giving SFU the 1-0 win.

Vitali made four stops to earn the shut out, with the two teams each taking five shots.  Reiff accounted for three of SFU’s attempts.  Caitlin Brown (Hamburg, Pa./Hamburg) and Dudukovich each had a shot as well. 

The Red Flash will play league-leading Lock Haven on Sunday in Lock Haven.