Nikish Scores a Hat Trick as Stevens Downs Elmira
HOBOKEN, N.J. (October 15, 2011) – The Stevens Institute of Technology field hockey team topped Elmira College 5-2 in its homecoming game on Saturday afternoon. The Ducks dominated the statsheet but had to claw for the win against a scrappy Elmira team that kept the game tied until 58:19. Junior captain Mary Nikish (Pittsford, N.Y.) scored three times - including the final tally with no time on the clock – to lead Stevens offensively.
The Ducks broke the program’s single-game shots record, taking a remarkable 54 on the day. Elmira only took three total but tallied on two of them. Stevens also ended with a 15-2 edge in penalty corners.
Sophomore Lauren Thomas (Marshfield, Mass.) made 15 saves in the loss while junior Meg Collins (Marshfield, Mass.) earned the win for the Ducks. She made one save in 35 minutes.
Stevens (8-5 overall, 4-1 in the Empire 8) scored in the 20th minute when Nikish and sophomore Rachel Chavez (Oceanport, N.J.) broke free on a 2-on-none breakaway. Chavez slipped a cross to the junior captain for the easy score. Elmira was able to pull even with 12 seconds left in the first when back Shannon Nelligan (Poughquag, N.Y.) scored her fourth of the year.
The Ducks and Soaring Eagles (2-10 overall, 2-3 Empire 8) played scoreless hockey for the first 15-plus minutes of the second period before an unassisted tally from Nikish broke the deadlock, banging home a loose ball in front.
A feisty Elmira team netted an equalizer 1:21 later but the Ducks scored three times over the final 12:41 to secure the win.
Sophomore back Megan Traub (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) notched her seventh of the year on a penalty corner with assists going to senior captains Jillian Price (West Islip, N.Y.) and Mallory Swanson (Princeton Junction, N.J.) on the play. Sophomore Katie Achilles (Portsmouth, N.H.), one of the Ducks’ top defenders, was able to get into the scoring column for the first time in her career to give the Ducks a 4-2 edge 2:43 later. She dribbled down the right side, found her way into the circle before launching a rocket of a shot into the lower-left corner.
The Ducks’ final score came with 0:00 on the clock and it was Nikish’s third of the game and ninth of the season. Price notched her team-high 12th assist of the season the play.