HOBOKEN, N.J. (October 30, 2011) – Junior captain Mary Nikish (Pittsford, N.Y.) tallied twice and senior captain Jillian Price (West Islip, N.Y.) handed out assists 14 and 15 of 2011 to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology field hockey team to a 4-1 win over Washington & Jefferson College on a freshly plowed De Baun Athletic Complex field on Sunday. The win locks up the No. 2 seed in the Empire 8 Championship for the Ducks and improves their record to 11-6 overall and 6-1 in the Empire 8.
Stevens was in control from the start, scoring 1:18 in and never looking back. The Ducks ended the contest with a 16-10 edge in shots and a huge 13-3 margin in penalty corners. Senior Krysten Suarez (Long Valley, N.J.) recorded six saves in goal, allowing just a penalty stroke score off the stick of President senior Erin Barno (Camp Hill, Pa.).
Price inserted out to sophomore Megan Traub (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) on a penalty corner for the Ducks' first goal and Nikish tallied on a Traub assist 8:02 in for a 2-0 lead. Traub blasted a shot from the top of the circle that W&J keeper Shelby Colyer (Oxford, Ohio) was able to save, but Nikish capitalized for the Ducks, putting home the rebound.
Senior captain Mallory Swanson (Princeton Junction, N.J.) found Nikish in front with a beautiful cross in the 25th minute to put the Ducks on top, 3-0, but Barno's stroke cut the Stevens lead to 3-1 at intermission.
The game's final tally came from Swanson after a scrum in front. Price was able to control and touch to Swanson who put it home for her sixth goal of the season in the 44th minute.
Four players recorded multiple points for the Ducks in Traub, Swanson, Price and Nikish and the Stevens defense of Samantha Weisman (Fairfax, Va.), Katie Achilles (Portsmouth, N.H.), Suarez and the previously mentioned Traub played well all afternoon.
Colyer finished with eight saves for the Presidents (12-4 overall, 4-3 Empire 8).
The Ducks have now won 11 of their last 14 games after an 0-3 start and are the two seed in the Empire 8 Championship. Utica College, the regular-season conference champ, will host the tournament, and the Ducks will take on Nazareth College on Saturday approximately 12:30 p.m.. The winner will advance to the title game on Sunday against Utica or W&J.
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