Scranton Reaches Ten Win Mark
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY—Senior midfielder Alicia Tamboia (Wingdale, NY/Dover) recorded the first multi-goal game of her career to lift The University of Scranton field hockey team past Vassar College, 3-2, in non-conference action Tuesday evening.
Tamboia scored twice—once in each half—and junior forward Gretchen Kempf (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) tallied the game-winning goal in the 56th minute of second half as the Royals improved to 10-5 on the season. The loss dropped the Brewers to 7-8.
Even though the Royals held a commanding 21-7 in shot attempts, they found themselves trailing 2-1 early in the second half when Brewer senior forward Katy Hwang (Millburn, NJ/Millburn) scored her second goal of the season on a ball crossed in front of the Scranton cage by senior forward Emily Maier (Poughkeepsie, NY/Spackenkill).
Tamboia tied it up on a play set up by junior back Corrine O'Kane (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) in the 51st minute before Kempf out-dodged three Vassar defenders five minutes later for her team-leading 13th goal of the season. It was also her third game-winning goal of the season.
Vassar kept the game close with several key defensive efforts, including a nine-save effort by sophomore goalkeeper Maggie Brelis (Cambridge, Mass./BB&N) and defensive saves by senior midfielders Libby Feltch (Newtown, Conn./Newtown) and Caroline Kessler (North Yarmouth, Maine/North Yarmouth).
With tonight's victory, Scranton reaches the 10-win plateau for the first time since 2008 and guarantees itself its first winning season since 2006. In addition, Kempf's 13 goals to date are the most for a Royal since Rosanne Calvani and Taryn Federico scored 19 and 14 goals, respectively, in 1992. She also moved into a tie for 11th place on the Scranton all-time list for most goals with 23. Tamboia's two goals this evening give her five for the season and seven for her career.
The Royals will close out the season with three home games at Fitzpatrick Field later this week. On Thursday, Scranton hosts Keystone at 7 p.m. before meeting Juniata College in a key Landmark Conference game on Saturday, October 29, at 1:00 p.m. On Sunday, October 30, the Royals end the regular season by hosting Misericordia at 11:00 a.m.
Story provided by Scranton Sports Information
