SELINSGROVE, PA – Back on their home turf for the first time since their season opener on August 30, Susquehanna used three unanswered second-half goals to send Marymount packing with a 3-1 victory Wednesday night. After an early Saints goal put the River Hawks behind at the half, Susquehanna dazzled its home crowd with three spectacles for goals between the 57th and 80th minutes. The River Hawks get their third straight win to improve to 3-2.
The first of these three featured a passing combination in which the ball didn't bounce off the turf until it crossed the goal line. Heading down the right sideline in front of her bench,
Morgan Stickley delivered a cross into the box, which bounced off the head of a Marymount defender hoping to knock it away, but instead found the left foot of
Amelia Kopp who equalized the contest at 1-1. The match remained scoreless for another nine minutes as SU's defense continued to work. Senior goalie
Kayleigh Saboja, who has split the time in goal this season so far with first-year Katie Hency, offered two saves to help keep the Saints from marching in the goal all second half.
The patience paid off as more highlight scores followed.
Ava Billmeyer, coming off her Offensive MVP performance over the weekend at Oneonta's Mayor Cup Challenge to beat Hartwick and SUNY Oneonta, added the first of her two-goal performance to bring her rookie season totals to four on the year. With Susquehanna granted a free kick in the 66th minute,
Hannah Parslow lined up near where Stickley offered her goal-scoring cross earlier, sending one into the box which bounced off the head of Billmeyer and ricocheting off a Marymount player's head that put the River Hawks up 2-1. The River Hawks continued to keep Marymount clear of the goal, offering hardly any open chances as the Parslow-Billmeyer combination looked to strike again. They got their chance late in the 80th minute with a corner kick from the right side. Parslow put a good ball to the far post, which again found the head of Billmeyer, this time heading straight for the goal as it bounced between the diving goalie and a kick-out attempt by a defender for the finishing blow.
Susquehanna made the most of its shots on the evening. After going shot-less in the first half they racked it up to match Marymount's shot totals with five, including three shots on goal. The Saints led 5-2 on corners, while the River Hawks were called on nine fouls to Marymount's seven. Of the River Hawks' seven goals this season, six of them have been scored by first-years, Billmeyer with four and Kopp two. Upperclassmen
Chloe Michaels has the one other. Saboja improved to 2-0.
Head coach Nick Hoover's team takes their win streak on the road and to the test with a pair of away matches at DeSales Saturday at 1 p.m., followed by Ursinus on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m.
