ORANGEBURG, N.Y. – Powered by goals from senior Alyssa Benvengo (East Islip, N.Y./Molloy University), freshman Reagan Hunsberger (Waterloo, Ontario/Bluevale Collegiate Institute) and junior Charlotte Sabert (Mohegan Lake, N.Y./Lakeland), the Mercy University Field Hockey Team earned a 3-2 win at ECC foe Dominican University on Saturday afternoon at O'Brien Field.
The Mavericks (3-7, 2-2 ECC) have won two of their last three games and defeat the Chargers (1-9, 1-3 ECC) in the schools' first-ever meeting.
Mercy took a 1-0 lead in the 4th minute of play when Benvengo scored. The score remained 1-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Junior Kaylise McClure (Lake Grove, N.Y./Sachem North) made seven saves to begin the second quarter before Leah Battle scored for the Chargers in the 29th minute, sending the game into halftime tied at 1-1.
McClure made a save early in the third quarter to keep the game tied. Hunsberger later scored her first collegiate goal following a junior Madison Brefka (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero North Syracuse) penalty corner, giving Mercy a 2-1 lead in the 38th minute. Dominican tied the game at 2-2 in the 44th minute and the score remained tied, heading to the fourth quarter.
Freshman Addison Testa (Danbury, Conn./Danbury) forced Dominican goalkeeper Emma Luvera to make a save in the 51st minute. Mercy took the lead for good in the 59th minute when Sabert scored, giving the Mavericks a 3-2 lead. The Mercy defense held Dominican without a shot on goal for the remainder of the game, giving the Mavericks the 3-2 win.
Mercy was led by Benvengo and Sabert who both scored their third goals of the season. Sabert recorded her first game-winning goal of the year and Hunsberger scored her first collegiate goal. McClure made a game-high eight saves to earn the win. McClure recorded her 300th career save and now has 301 for her career. She becomes the fourth goalie in program history to record 300 saves.
Dominican was led by Rosa Duivenvoorden and Battle who both scored. Luvera made three saves to take the loss.
Dominican held a 19-15 edge in shots and a 10-7 edge in shots on goal. Mercy held a 5-4 edge in penalty corners.
Head Coach Marissa Spinazzola and the Mavericks resume action on Tuesday, October 20th when they host STAC at 3 p.m.
