Luke Gadson – Sports Editor
It was a tough and competitive matchup between the Owls and the St. Anslem Hawks on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at Jess Dow Field. The scoring was going back and forth to start the game. The Hawks got on the board early in the conference matchup, but it was not long before the Owls answered to make the score 1-1. The Hawks would score again in the half to leave the score showing 2-1 in favor of St. Anslem to end the first half. The Owls were quiet in the second half, not being able to find the back of the net while allowing another goal by the Hawks. The Owls would go on to fall to the Hawks 3-1.
After a fantastic play by the Owls, Forward Victoria Vera, a junior, scored the lone goal for the university. Forward Alexie Rosado, a senior, started the play by taking the ball from a Hawks midfielder, cutting across the field, and passing it to Forward Kelsey Burr, a graduate student. Burr moved the ball to the center of the field, 10 yards from the box, before leading midfielder Taylor Hennig, a graduate student to the left of the Saint Anselm goal. In exchange, Hennig centered a pass to Vera, who one-touched it past Saint Anselm’s goalkeeper.
Goalkeeper Abby Aughe also had a great game, stopping 9 of the Hawks 12 shots on goal.
Despite being down, Head Coach Adam Cohen is proud of the way his team fought to the end. “I told the team that I have nothing but respect for their attitude, effort and mentality. They really competed well tonight,” said Cohen.
With the loss, the Owls end the regular season at 5-6-5 overall and 3-4-4 in the NE10 conference.
With 13 points in the conference standings the Owls clinch the 8th and final seed in the NE10 Championship tournament. The Owls will travel to top-seeded Saint Rose on Sunday, Nov. 5 for a quarterfinal matchup.
“Right now it’s really about rest and regeneration. They will be ready for Sunday,” said Cohen.
