BOX SCORE (.html) | BOX SCORE (.pdf)
NEW YORK – The Columbia field hockey's offense exploded for five goals to pick up a 5-2 win over Villanova on Saturday afternoon. Junior Christina Freibott assisted on three of the goals to tie the program's single-game record and Zoe Blake potted two goals and an assist.
After applying the pressure right away, Kyle Marsh opened the scoring in the 10th minute. The senior fed a penalty corner to Freibott. The junior tri-captain then settled the pass for Blake, who faked the shot, and found Marsh wide open on the left doorstep to make it 1-0.
Freibott picked up her second helper of the game just over 10 minutes later, picking up a turnover and driving down the middle of the scoring area. After drawing a pair of defenders toward her, the Wilmington, Delaware, product slipped a nice pass to Leah Matthews on her right to extend the cushion to 2-0.
The Wildcats (2-4) cut the deficit in half in the 42nd minute on a scramble play. Maddie Harding fired a shot that was denied by Lions' (2-1) goalkeeper Kimberly Pianucci, but the loose ball wound up on the stick of Abigail Freitag, who passed it to Heather Smillie for her second goal of the year.
Pianucci kept Columbia in front with some key saves over the next several minutes until the offense regained its rhythm from the first half.
In the 53rd minute, Blake was the recipient of a perfectly executed penalty corner by Marsh and Freibott to regain the two-goal advantage. Five minutes later Blake added another insurance goal on a shot from the top of the circle. Meredith Kalberer earned the assist on the play.
Villanova responded in the 59th minute when Kayla Kenney pounced on a turnover and dished to Francesca Bello, who backhanded a shot into the goal.
However, the Lions iced the game less than two minutes later when Caroline Donnal worked her way into the right corner and produced a centering pass to Katie Ruesterholz who lit the lamp for the second time this season.
Pianucci made seven stops on the day. Blake rifled a game-high eight shots, seven on target. Columbia outshot the Wildcats, 19-10, and had 13 penalty corners, compared to just three for Villanova.
The Lions get right back to work tomorrow, Sep. 14, for a 1 p.m. matinee against Fairfield at the Baker Athletics Complex.
