COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College field hockey team opened its season with a 5-0 loss to No. 1 Kutztown University on Saturday at Duffy Field during the Best Western Windjammer Fall Classic. The Golden Bears won the 2023 NCAA Division II national championship and were ranked first in the latest National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) national poll.
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In the day's other contest, Mansfield University blanked Southern Connecticut State University, 2-0.
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RECORDS
- Saint Michael's (0-1), Kutztown (2-0)
SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS
- Senior Addy Fenton (Andover, Mass./Phillips Academy), 4 defensive saves
- Junior Joelle Cameron (West Bridgewater, Mass./West Bridgewater), 16 saves in 30 minutes, loss
- Senior Riley O'Connor (Canton, Mass./Canton), 15 saves in 30 minutes of relief
OPPONENT LEADERS
- Senior Juliana Donato, 2 goals
- Junior Erin Gonzalez, 2 goals
- Senior Megan Doyle, 1 goal
- Graduate student Mia Kepler, 0 saves in 45 minutes, win
GAME FACTS
- Fenton's four defensive saves were the most by a Purple Knight since Ashley Webb '07 recorded a school-record five on Oct. 4, 2006, at Saint Anselm College. With 13 for her career, Fenton vaulted into a tie for third in program annals with Hannah Beardsley '15 and Samantha Shapiro '24.
- O'Connor increased her career save total to 336, passing Caroline Petrie '88 (324) for fourth in program history.
THE ACTION
- In her first college start, Cameron made 12 saves in the opening quarter alone, yielding only Gonzalez's tip-in off of a redirection out front with 11:39 gone.
- Doyle doubled the lead in the 21st minute, sending home a one-timer at the left post.
- Donato scored twice during a three-goal third quarter, sandwiching her goals around Gonzalez's 37th-minute strike.
- Fenton registered all four of her defensive saves in a 5:45 span of the fourth stanza.
NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME
- Sunday vs. Mansfield, 11 a.m. as part of the Best Western Windjammer Fall Classic.
