ST. MARY’S CITY — St. Mary’s College of Maryland field hockey turned a 1-1 halftime tie into a rout Saturday, Oct. 31, scoring four second-half goals to beat Lancaster Bible College 5-1 and reach the United East Conference championship game for the third straight year.
The No. 2-seeded Seahawks (10-7), two-time defending United East champions, will play top-seeded Penn State Harrisburg (11-5) for the title at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, on the Multipurpose Turf Field in Middletown, Pennsylvania, according to the SMCM athletics recap.
The semifinal was a near replay of the regular season. SMCM beat No. 3 seed Lancaster Bible by the same 5-1 score on Oct. 21, then blanked Cedar Crest 3-0 to lock up the No. 2 seed and the home semifinal.
How the goals came
Junior forward Olivia Schwendeman of Marriottsville put SMCM ahead at 8:56, finishing a through pass from senior forward Emma Mastrangelo of Riverton, New Jersey.
Lancaster Bible tied it 100 seconds before halftime when Rebekah Hoover deflected in a pass from Bailey Simmons at 28:20.
A Leonardtown connection broke the tie. Sophomore forward Josie Mascolo, a St. Mary’s Ryken graduate, set up sophomore midfielder Morgan Knott of Denton for the go-ahead goal at 35:58.
Then the Seahawks pulled away in less than five minutes. Mastrangelo scored off a pass from senior midfielder Safi Stimely of Linthicum at 51:32. Stimely scored herself from a sharp angle 30 seconds later, then assisted on Schwendeman’s second goal at 56:22.
Time Team Goal Assist 8:56 SMCM Olivia Schwendeman Emma Mastrangelo 28:20 LBC Rebekah Hoover Bailey Simmons 35:58 SMCM Morgan Knott Josie Mascolo 51:32 SMCM Emma Mastrangelo Safi Stimely 52:02 SMCM Safi Stimely Unassisted 56:22 SMCM Olivia Schwendeman Safi Stimely
By the numbers
SMCM outshot Lancaster Bible 22-3 and put 14 shots on goal to the Chargers’ two. The Seahawks also held a 6-2 edge in penalty corners. Lancaster Bible goalkeeper Amelia Huey kept the first half close with nine saves.
- Schwendeman: 2 goals on 8 shots, 7 on goal, her third two-goal game of the season and eight goals overall
- Stimely: 1 goal, career-high 2 assists, matching her career best of 4 points
- Mastrangelo: 1 goal, 1 assist on 5 shots
- Knott: 1 goal, her second of the season
- Sophomore defender Bella Marson of Cockeysville: first career defensive save
The championship game is a road trip. Penn State Harrisburg earned the top seed and hosting rights, and tickets are sold online; the conference moved championship ticket sales to the Hudl app this fall. A win would give SMCM its third consecutive United East crown.
