RADNOR, PA – The Cabrini field hockey got all of the offense it needed it the first half of tonight's Colonial States Athletic Conference tilt against Immaculata. The Cavaliers scored all three of its goals in a seven minute span of the first half en route to a 3-1 win over the Mighty Macs.
With the win, the Blue and White improved to 6-7 overall and 4-1 in the conference, while Immaculata fell to 5-11 and 3-2 in league play.
Tonight's game also marked the program's annual Play for the Cure Cancer Awareness game.
The Blue and White controlled much of the first half from the opening whistle, as it allowed the Mighty Macs to record just one first half shot.
Cabrini opened the scoring in the 16th minute, when senior
Jackie Neary notched the first of her two goals on the night. The senior was on the business end of penalty corner passes from classmate
Brittany Smith and sophomore
Katie Kucia.
Three minutes later, senior
Sara DeVita increased the lead, as she tipped in a pass from freshman
Gabby Thompson for her third goal of the season.
Neary returned to the score book in the 23rd minute, as Smith and freshman
Emily Manda found Neary on yet another penalty corner.
The Blue and White carried its 3-0 lead into the halftime break, after outshooting Immaculata 12-1 in the opening 35 minutes.
The Mighty Macs put the Cavaliers on their heels in the second half, building a 9-5 advantage in second half shots. Immaculata's pressure paid off in the 54th minute, when senior Megan Donegan's pass found junior Brittany Richards for a goal.
The Mighty Macs would get no closer, as Cabrini's defense, led by senior goaltender
Taylor Bookman held firm.
Bookman tallied all of her seven saves in the second half to anchor the Blue and White defensive effort.
Neary accounted for a season high eight shots in recording her first multi-goal game of the season. DeVita joined classmate
Alexandra Swallow with three shots each.
Donegan accounted for five of the Mighty Macs' 10 shots, while freshman goaltender Randie Kuhar notched four saves.
As part of the night's festivities, the Cavaliers wore pink warm-up shirt and socks. The back of the shirt featured a quote from Cabrini's former softball coach, Mitch Kline, who lost his battle with cancer in September 2016.
The quote read "You don't have to have the best athletes on the field, you have to have the biggest hearts to win."
The Cavaliers will return to action on Saturday, as they travel to La Plume, PA to face Keystone College (5-9. 2-3 CSAC). The opening whistle is slated for 4pm.
