SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Senior Jenna Puleo (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex/Providence) set a school record with her NCAA Division II-leading 15th assist while becoming the fourth Saint Michael's College field hockey player with 40 points in a season during the Purple Knights' 5-3 loss at American International College on Abdow Field in Northeast-10 Conference play on Wednesday.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (4-11, 3-8 NE10), AIC (6-9, 4-7 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Puleo, 2 goals, 1 assist
• Sophomore Bridgie Loughlin (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston), 1 goal, 1 assist
• First-year Riley O'Connor (Canton, Mass./Canton), 7 saves

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Junior Shannon Cormier, 1 goal, 2 assists
• First-year Brooke Szafran, 1 goal, 2 assists
• Junior Camarin Cook, 1 goal, 1 assist
• Graduate student Nadia Elcock, 1 goal
• Sophomore Na'Bree Wallace, 1 goal
• Junior Jessica Stone, 11 saves
• Junior Nicole Mercandante, 1 defensive save

GAME FACTS

• With her NCAA Division II-leading 15th assist, Puleo broke a tie with Betsy Walters '92 for the program mark in season helpers, as Walters' record had stood since 1991.
• Puleo also became the fifth Purple Knight with 40 points in one season, as she paces the NE10 with 41. Each of the other four women with 40 points - Patty Porter '89, Seanna Poelaert '00, Sarah Alves '01 and Andrea Slaven '09 - are in the Saint Michael's Athletic Hall of Fame.
• Puleo is tied for 10th in program annals in season goals (13), netting the most since Slaven had 13 in 2008.
• Loughlin is tied for fourth in the NE10 in assists (6), tied for 10th in points (22) and tied for 11th in goals (8).
• O'Connor is second in the NE10 in saves with 135, good for eighth in program history. Her total is a school rookie record.
• Six of the Purple Knights' losses have come by two goals or fewer.
• Saint Michael's held advantages in shots (22-14) and penalty corners (14-4).

THE ACTION

• In an eventful opening quarter, the Purple Knights got on the board first with 6:16 gone, as Puleo passed from the top of the circle during a penalty corner sequence for Loughlin, who slipped a shot into the left side of the net from the middle of the circle.
• Cormier found the equalizer just 52 seconds later, bouncing a drive from the top of the circle home during a corner set.
• Puleo put Saint Michael's back on top exactly two minutes later, at 9:08, picking the lower right corner from the top of the circle.
• AIC took the lead with a pair of goals midway through the second quarter. At the right post, Wallace tapped in Cook's cross from the perimeter past a diving O'Connor at 20:51 during a corner play. Just 1:53 later, the Yellow Jackets went in front, with Cormier sending a long cross into the circle and Szafran winning a 50/50 ball from a Purple Knight before hitting the lower left corner from up close.
• Saint Michael's tied the game 50 seconds into the second half, as Loughlin sent a centering pass from the sideline downfield for Puleo, who took a few steps into the circle before drilling a shot into the lower left.
• Cook found the winner during a corner sequence at 47:31, hitting the lower left part of the net on a shot from the perimeter.
• Elcock iced the game in the 57th minute, as Cormier's long pass from midfield beat the final defender, and Elcock ripped a quick shot into the lower left.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday at Pace University, 1 p.m.