ST. DAVIDS, Pa. – The No. 5 Stevenson field hockey team closed out the regular season with an 11-4 victory over the Eastern Eagles on Saturday. With the win, the Mustangs finish the regular season 16-1 overall and 7-1 in MAC Commonwealth play.
Hailey Mertz opened the scoring at the 5:48 mark, finishing a pass from Sydney Aylward to give Stevenson an early lead. Less than four minutes later, Taylor Valoczki doubled the advantage with an assist from Tori Martz. Mertz added her second goal of the quarter with less than a minute remaining, finishing a feed from Lauren Tobin to put the Mustangs ahead 3-0.
In the second quarter, Lauren Schulz extended Stevenson's lead with a goal at the 17:52 mark off an assist from Monica Druckemiller. Eastern responded with its first goal in the 22nd minute, but Mertz completed her hat trick with a feed from Kailen Hibshman to give the Mustangs a 5-1 advantage at halftime.
Gracyn Catalano opened the scoring in the third quarter less than a minute into the period, finishing a pass from Mertz. Five minutes later, Shae Bennett added another goal off an assist from Tobin. The Eagles responded with three consecutive goals, cutting into the Stevenson lead, but the Mustangs maintained a 7-4 advantage entering the final quarter.
Stevenson erupted for four goals in the fourth quarter to secure the 11-4 victory. Schulz opened the scoring with her second goal of the afternoon off a pass from Aylward. Aylward then found the back of the net herself, finishing a feed from Schulz. At the 49:43 mark, Tobin added a goal off an assist from Abry Klinger before Molly Parker capped the scoring at 52:17.
Mertz led Stevenson with a seven-point game, as Schulz slotted five points. Aylward and Tobin each had a goal and two assists, as Bennett tallied a goal and an assist. Jordan Vradenburgh and Ollie Winterle split time in goal making a combined five saves.
The Mustangs will now turn their attention to MAC Commonwealth Championship tournament play as the No. 2 seed. The team will host No. 3 seeded Messiah on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
