Columbia
TOWSON
Field Hockey Tops Towson, 5-3
10/10/2014 5:23:00 PM | Field Hockey
BOX SCORE (.html) | BOX SCORE (.pdf)
POSTGAME REACTION WITH HEAD COACH MARYBETH FREEMAN
POSTGAME REACTION WITH WHITNEY HARTSTONE
NEW YORK – The Columbia field hockey team held off a pesky Towson squad, 5-3, Friday at the Baker Athletics Complex. Katie Ruesterholz and Whitney Hartstone each potted a pair of goals in the win to help the Lions improve to 7-4 on the year.
Junior Christina Freibott tallied three assists, tying the program's single-game record for the third time this season.
The Tigers (2-9) surprised Columbia early, taking a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute after Sam Zelenack found some space to create in the attacking zone and dished to Heather Jenney to the left, who put a the shot into the net.
From there, it was all Lions. Columbia was relentless and drew numerous corners. In the 16th minute, Zoe Blake provided the equalizer, tipping in a shot off a penalty corner for her 11th tally of the season.
Whitney Hartstone put the Lions on top with a redirection on the right side of the goalmouth after Freibott made a nice move and feed to the first-year.
After 35 minutes, Columbia held a 16-1 edge in shots and recorded 14 corners and allowed none to Towson.
The Lions extended the margin to 3-1 after Freibott slipped a pass through the Tigers' defense to Katie Ruesterholz. From the left wing, Ruesterholz' scored her eighth goal of the season on the insurance tally in the 39th minute.
Despite the wide disparity in shots and corners, Towson refused to go quietly. Jenney tipped one home off Meg Stuarts' shot to cut the deficit to 3-2 just two minutes later.
The goals continued to come furiously as Ruesterholz restored the two-goal margin after receiving a great centering pass from Freibott. From the top of the semicircle, the New York City product's attempt went through traffic in front of the goal and found its way past the line.
The Tigers' Kelly Mattingly cut the deficit to one in the 50th minute with an unassisted goal, but Columbia continued to dictate the pace. Hartstone eventually iced the game with her third of the season, scooping up a rebound off a Freibott shot and tucking one into the right side of the net.
Shots finished 30-4 in favor of the Lions and Columbia drew 17 corners for the game. Freibot, the national leader in assists, had two in the game to bring her season total to 16.
The Lions are back at it this Sunday, October 12, for a 1 p.m. contest against UMass at the Baker Athletics Complex.
