COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College field hockey team opened Northeast-10 Conference play with a 5-2 loss to Mercy (N.Y.) University on Saturday at Duffy Field.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (0-6, 0-1 NE10), Mercy (2-2, 1-0 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Bridgie Loughlin (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston), 1 goal, 1 assist
• Senior Madeleine Biondi (Cranston, R.I./Cushing Academy), 1 goal
• Junior Chloe Sapienza (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown), 1 assist
• Junior Riley O'Connor (Canton, Mass./Canton), 7 saves
• Senior Mia Gardner (Smithfield, R.I./Saint George's School), 1 defensive save

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Rachel Palladino, 2 goals
• Senior Kelly Rosenfeld, 2 assists
• Junior Alexandra Giordano, 3 saves
• Senior Victoria Devlin, 1 defensive save

GAME FACTS

• Loughlin has played a hand in the last five Purple Knight goals, scoring four and assisting the other.
• Loughlin moved into a tie for 13th in program history in career goals (23) with Bridget Lyons '83 and Lynn Taplin '84 and a tie for 15th in career points (58) with Marsha Spellacy '93.

THE ACTION

• On the first shot of the game, Biondi tipped Loughlin's pass from the edge of the circle past Giordano during a penalty corner sequence 48 seconds in.
• Mercy responded with a pair of quick tallies. Sophomore Samantha Trickel redirected a pass out front at 17:41 before Palladino finished an odd-woman rush with Rosenfeld 2:33 later.
• Palladino tipped home another shot in front of O'Connor with 32 seconds left in the half, giving Mercy a 3-1 edge at intermission.
• Loughlin cut the deficit to one goal during the 33rd minute, pushing home Sapienza's quick goal-mouth feed.
• Senior Rory McComb countered late in the 40th minute, finishing Rosenfeld's long cross through the circle.
• Junior Jessica Evans added insurance with 39 seconds to go, turning in the circle and finishing after taking a feed.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Wednesday at American International College, 6 p.m.