Senior Valerie Barnhart scores the winning goal in her field Hockey debut to lift Stevens to a season-opening victory over Eastern Connecticut.

HOBOKEN, NJ – A pair of newcomers teamed up to lift the Stevens Institute of Technology field hockey team to a 1-0 victory over Eastern Connecticut State University in its season-opener Thursday evening at DeBaun Field.

Freshman Alli Shields (Mahopac, NY) found an open Valerie Barnhart (Gilbertsville, PA) situated five yards in front of the goal. Barnhart, the 2004 Skyline Conference Player of the Year in women’s soccer, registered the Ducks’ first goal of the season in her field hockey debut, putting home a hard shot 12 minutes into the second half.

Barnhart, a senior, is competing in her first season with the field hockey program after playing with the women’s soccer and women’s lacrosse teams the past four seasons.    

Barnhart nearly added a second goal late, finding herself free in front of the cage, but ECSU goalie Damaly Auguste stopped Barnhart’s shot from point-blank range with nearly 10 minutes remaining in the contest.

Freshman Jessica Megill (Clark, NJ) nearly put the Ducks on the board early in the game, but her shot from close range sailed wide of the cage.

Stevens dominated possession throughout the contest, holding Eastern Connecticut State without a shot the entire match, while registering 20 shots. Shields led the Ducks with six shots, while Barnhart added four.

Stevens returns to action on Saturday, welcoming Castleton State to DeBaun Field for a 2 p.m. game.