WAYNE, N.J. – Sophomore
Katelyn Birnbaum matched her career high with five points on two goals and an assist to lead the Union College field hockey team to a 5-0 victory over William Paterson University in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon at Wightman Stadium.
Birnbaum scored the first two goals of the game for Union (4-1) and the Garnet Chargers never looked back from there. Seniors
Reese Fendelet,
Rachel Ostiguy and
Amy Vytopilova all scored as well for the visitors, while first-year
Caroline Ranucci had a pair of assists and junior
Rowan Dapson added one helper.
Senior
Marion Stuntz made two saves over the opening 45 minutes to pick up the win and first-year
Ellie Skolnekovich made one stop in the fourth quarter to finish off the shutout.
Union controlled play all afternoon long, outshooting William Paterson (0-5) by a 24-3 margin and requiring WPU keeper Sofia Chebookjian to make 16 saves.
Birnbaum made an immediate impact on the game, coming on as an early substitute and quickly opening the scoring 4:39 into the contest, taking a Ranucci feed and finding the back of the net. The sophomore had Union's first three shots of the game, as her second attempt was denied by Chebookjian before redirecting a Dapson shot into the net less than four minutes later. The Garnet Chargers took 10 unanswered shots in the opening 15 minutes.
Union added two more goals while outshooting William Paterson by a 10-2 margin in the second stanza. Vytopilova put home a Ranucci feed in the 22nd minute to make it a three-goal Union advantage, and Fendelet added to the lead just before halftime by corralling a rebound from senior
Maddie Greco and scoring her second goal of the season.
The teams combined for only five shots during the second half, including a shot-less third frame for both sides. The game looked destined to finish at 4-0 before Ostiguy put an exclamation point on the win with her second of the year in the final minute.
The Garnet Chargers will return to action on Wednesday with a battle against nationally ranked Williams College beginning at 6 p.m. in Schenectady.
