Soler Scores as Field Hockey Concludes Season Against Bellarmine in ECAC Tournament Third-Place Game
Box Score NEWBERRY, S.C. (Nov. 6, 2016) – Despite a goal from senior Vanessa Soler (Port Monmouth, N.J./Middletown North) and an assist from senior Jackie Ballin (Cupertino, Calif./Cupertino), the Mercy College field hockey team concluded its 2016 season with an 8-1 setback to Bellarmine University in the ECAC Division II Field Hockey League Tournament Third-Place Game on Sunday afternoon at Setzler Field.
The Mavericks (7-13) end the season with their most wins in program history, while the Knights (13-7) snap a two-game losing streak with the win.
Soler recorded her fourth goal of the season, while Ballin notched her team-leading sixth assist of the year. Sophomore goalkeeper Cheradyn Pettit (Colorado Springs, Colo./Lewis Palmer) made 11 saves in the first 60:05 of action before giving way to sophomore Julia Amell (Greene, N.Y./Greene).
Bellarmine was led by Elle Lichte and Kathryn Schneidtmiller both scored two goals to lead the Knights. Goalie Heather Gregory made one save in 65:41 minutes of action to earn the victory.
After a save by Pettit just 29 seconds into the game, Bellarmine would get on the board first in the 5th minute as Lichte dribbled through the defense and fired into an open net to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
Pettit made three more saves before Lillie Nitzken recorded a goal after a penalty corner by Schneidtmiller to give Bellarmine a 2-0 advantage in the 15th minute of action. The Knights made it 3-0 in the 29th minute when Schneidtmiller scored off an assist by Lindsay Reynolds.
Mercy got on the board in the 33rd minute when Soler received a pass from Ballin off a corner and fired the ball from the top of the circle into the cage to make it 3-1. Pettit made three more stops to close out the half as the Knights headed into intermission with a 3-1 lead.
Bellarmine wasted little time in scoring in the second half as Anna O'Toole scored following a corner just under two minutes into the frame to make it 4-1. The Knights tacked on four more goals in the frame to emerge victorious in the third place game.
Bellarmine held a 23-5 edge in shots and a 16-6 advantage in penalty corners.
