The Rowan field hockey team continued their season-long dominance after a 5-0 win against The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) on Monday, Oct. 3.
In what was a cold and rainy game, the Profs managed to stay hot, winning their tenth straight and first New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) game. The constant rain and wind added a different element to the game, but that’s not to say the Profs weren’t ready for it.
“The past two days we have been practicing just to get used to the weather outside, and I think those two practices really helped us,” sophomore forward Vanessa DiDonato said. “It’s something that we really don’t play in, so I think it kind of got us moving and as we warmed up we were good.”
The Profs’ offense was slow out of the gates but got rolling as they netted four of their five goals in the second half to blow the game open. DiDonato led the way with three goals, and senior midfielders Bridget Guinan and Liz Fox each added a goal of their own.
The Profs spent a lot of time protecting their own net in the first half, but a season-high 11 saves for senior goalie Abby Hainsworth helped the Profs shut out the Lions. Hainsworth knew that they had to tighten up their defense in the second half if they wanted to walk out of Monday night’s game with a win.
“After the first half we realized we had some changes we had to make, throughout the field, especially defensively,” Hainsworth said. “There were a lot of people open in the middle of the circle, so making sure that people defensively were recovering to try and fill in those gaps.”
After the weather moved the game from Saturday, Oct. 1, to Monday, the Profs are facing a quick turnaround as they have another NJAC game on Wednesday, Oct. 5. Head Coach Michelle Andre isn’t worried about her team losing focus due to the schedule change.
“They’re doing a pretty good job of staying focused on their own. They know what they want to do,” Coach Andre said. “Conference games, I think, are always easy to get up for, and we’re going to get every team’s best game. They know their destiny is in their own hands.”
The Profs will look to stay undefeated and pick up their second NJAC win of the year as they head down to Galloway, NJ to take on the Stockton University Ospreys on Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 7:30 p.m.
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