Sophomore midfielder Julie Presgraves scored her second game-winning goal of the season Thursday evening, lifting the St. Mary’s College of Maryland field hockey team to a hard-fought 2-1 non-conference win over Randolph-Macon and snapping a three-game losing streak that had followed a promising season-opening win.
St. Mary’s (2-3) controlled the opening quarter, out-shooting Randolph-Macon (3-3) 5-2 and holding a 5-2 edge in penalty corners, but the Yellow Jackets defense held firm. The tables turned in the second quarter, when Randolph-Macon put up an 8-1 shot advantage and forced junior goalkeeper Sophia Kent into three saves. Despite the pressure, the two teams went into halftime scoreless.
Randolph-Macon broke through first in the third quarter, with Caitlin Porter converting a loose ball for a 1-0 lead at the 34:42 mark. The Seahawks answered five minutes later on a penalty corner: sophomore forward Morgan Knott inserted the ball to senior midfielder Tori Hampton, who fired it into the cage for her first goal of the season, tying the score at 39:21.
St. Mary’s was significantly outshot in the fourth quarter, 13-1, but made its lone shot count. Senior forward Emma Mastrangelo dribbled along the endline before feeding the ball to the penalty stroke spot, where Presgraves redirected it into the cage at 53:26 for the game-winner. Randolph-Macon pushed for an equalizer in the closing minutes, earning three more penalty corners and three shots, but couldn’t find the net again.
Randolph-Macon finished with a lopsided edge in the shot column, 26-12, including a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal, and out-cornered St. Mary’s 12-9. Kent finished with a season-best six saves for the Seahawks, while Knott and senior defender Safi Stimely each added a defensive save. Knott and sophomore Josie Mascolo led St. Mary’s with three shots apiece, and Mastrangelo picked up the first point of her career on the Presgraves assist. For Randolph-Macon, Kylee Gorham led all players with seven shots, and goalkeeper Valentina Ambrogi-Torres made two stops in the Yellow Jackets’ second straight loss. St. Mary’s improved to 18-6 all-time in the series.
The win comes after a rough stretch for the Seahawks, who opened the season with an overtime win over Virginia Wesleyan before dropping three straight — to Bridgewater, York College of Pennsylvania, and nationally ranked Washington and Lee. St. Mary’s next travels to Washington College on Sept. 23 before returning home Sept. 26 to face No. 2 Salisbury as part of the program’s Youth Day.
