It’s been nothing but smiles in Glassboro as the Rowan field hockey team has started the season with a perfect 3-0.

The Profs, led by junior goalie Morgan Novak, notched their first shutout of the season with a 3-0 victory against #17 Eastern University on Saturday. Novak only faced three shots the whole day, leaving her season save percentage at .800. 

New to the starting lineup, Novak couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season. When asked about what it’s like to be full time in the cage, she was pumped up to say the least.

“Oh, it’s awesome,” Novak said. “I’m happy to be out there, happy to step up.”

She can’t take all the credit however, citing her defense as one of the main reasons the team had gotten off to such a strong start and what had been key for them so far. 

“Good teamwork, great communication, talking to each other making sure we are on the same page,” Novak said. 

Saying that this defense is anything other than fantastic is an understatement, as they’ve only allowed two goals in three games, both of which have been in the first period.

The 3-0 start is the best three-game start to a season for Rowan since they blanked their first three opponents in 2006, and head coach Michelle Andre couldn’t be more pleased.

“One of the things we have done very well, is taking it a game at a time and focusing on the opponent that’s in front of us,” Andre said. 

Another thing of note Andre mentioned was the pace that the brown and gold have been playing at, as well as the interchangeability the lineup possesses.

“In the past couple games we’ve been able to wear our opponent down and not get beat in transition on defense,” Andre said. “When I have to sub somebody out, you don’t really notice a change in our play. Everybody is on board.”

Rowan’s offense has been paced by senior Rachel Galante, who leads the Profs with 11 points. Galante’s five goals and an assist earned her the honor of being selected as the NJAC Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Week. Junior Bridget Boyle and freshman Bridget Guinan have also added a pair of goals each for the Profs as the team looks to continue their solid play with a couple of tough road tests this week. 

Although things might seem bright and dandy, there are always aspects lying in the rough that need to be addressed and fine-tuned.

“We are progressing down the road,” Andre said. “There are some things we need to work on, maybe tweak some things defensively and improve our circle play a little bit but, I’m glad we have things to work on. That is always a good thing.”

And continuing that play they did, defeating Cabrini University on Wednesday night with their second consecutive shutout, 7-0, and moving to 4-0 on the year. Galante tacked on two more goals in a game that had Rowan out-shooting Cabrini by a staggering count of 29-1. Senior back Julie Johnson tallied four assists on the day.

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