HOBOKEN, N.J. (September 1, 2011) – The College of New Jersey defeated the Stevens Institute of Technology field hockey team in both squads' season-openers on Thursday night at the De Baun Athletic Complex by a 3-1 final. Senior midfielder Jillian Price tallied the Stevens goal, while junior back Camille Passucci (Denville, N.J.) notched a pair of assists to lead the eighth-ranked Lions.
The Lions had the game's first scoring chance 4:02 in when freshman midfielder Lauren Pigott (Jobstown, N.J.) received a pass on the left post but senior midfielder Mallory Swanson was there to notch a defensive save.
The game's first penalty corner did not come until the 25th minute and it was the Lions who took advantage of the rare first-half opportunity. Passucci took the corner and fed freshman Erin Waller (Sewell, N.J.) for the game's first goal.
Stevens was able to penetrate the TCNJ zone several times late in the first half, netting itself a pair of corners, but the Ducks were unable to find the back of the net and the Lions took a 1-0 edge into the halftime intermission.
The Lions made it 2-for-2 on penalty corners when Passucci hit out from the right side, found Waller for a shot that was tipped in by freshman Erin Healy (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.). Both Passucci and Waller were credited with assists on the play.
Swanson created a strong scoring chance for the Ducks with 21 minutes to play, angling in hard from the top-left of the circle but TCNJ goalie Shannon Syciarz (Garwood, N.J.) made a save shuffling to her right.
The Lions made it a 3-0 game thanks to a tally from junior Jillian Nealon (Whitehouse Station, N.J.) with 11:28 remaining, but the Ducks continued to fight and were able to get on the board with 2:31 on the clock. Price hit out on a corner and eventually received a pass back from sophomore Megan Traub (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) on the left side. Price then fired a shot into the lower-right corner for her 11th career goal.
Stevens (0-1) ended with a 5-4 edge in corners and the Lions finished with a 12-6 shot advantage. Senior Krysten Suarez made five saves in goal for the Ducks, while her counterpart, Syciarz did the same. Passucci ended with a pair of assists for the Lions.
Stevens will return to action at 16th-ranked Juniata College on Sunday at 1 p.m. TCNJ (1-0) hosts Gwynedd-Mercy College on Saturday at 1 p.m.
