Despite a winless record, the Rowan field hockey team’s intensity hadn’t lacked through its first two games. They were on the unlucky end of some close battles.
That trend ended Wednesday night, as the Profs’ pressure play translated into scoring and earned them a 6-0 victory over Arcadia University.
Rowan (1-2) tallied four goals in the second half to put the game away. Senior midfielder Courtney Aquino and freshman forward Bridget Boyle paced the brown and gold with two goals apiece.
The team’s six scores stand as the most on the season thus far, reaching the previous game-high (2) by the halftime break.
“We might have started out slowly [on the season] but we never played badly. We always played together but now it finally clicked,” Aquino said. “We realized when you utilize everyone and everyone has each other’s backs, you get to the ball more frequently.”
Rowan controlled possession for much of the game, keeping the ball in the Arcadia half of the field. But through much of the first half, it seemed the team would not cash in.
The Profs finally cracked the scoreboard at the 21st minute. Then with seconds left in the first half, Boyle buried a shot off a cross from junior defender N’Dea Irvin-Choy.
Boyle, who climbed to a team-high three goals and eight points with a late assist, gave the praise to her teammates for the legwork and effort not shown on the stat sheet.
“There’s so much off-ball movement and there’s so much chemistry,” Boyle said. “The team is really coming together and I’m just the one touching it last.”
Adding to that, head coach Michelle Andre cited adjustments made on the offensive end as a reason for the surge Wednesday. Sophomore Rachel Galante, typically a midfielder, played up at forward against Arcadia. She would blast home the Profs’ first goal, her first of the season.
Andre said it was about “just finding the right combination of forwards and midfielders” for that necessary boost.
“We already had the confidence, we just had to make some adjustments in finding people at the right spots on the field. And I think by having a game like this and seeing those adjustments paid off, I was really happy with their effort,” Andre said. “I was happy for the girls that they played really good team hockey.”
Rowan also took advantage of its penalty corners late in the game, with goals from Aquino and sophomore midfielder Nikki Kotelnicki extending the lead from 4-0. The team had 14 penalty corners on the night overall, including four within the first 20 minutes.
Junior goalkeeper Carly DeMarco did not have to make a save in the win; Arcadia recorded just two shots, compared with Rowan’s 18.
Rowan 6, Arcadia 0
21’: Rachel Galante- R
34’: Bridget Boyle- R
43’: Boyle- R
47’: Courtney Aquino- R
61’: Aquino- R
68’: Nikki Kotelnicki- R
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