Hawk field hockey has achieved some impressive feats over the past couple years and the list of their accomplishments is only growing. On Sept. 23 the Hawks kept their undefeated streak alive while breaking another school record in the process.

In a Saturday afternoon contest at Grappone Stadium, the Hawks beat Pace University in a 2-1 overtime thriller.

The win lifts Saint Anselm’s record to a perfect 7-0, thus making this start of the season their best in program history.

Saint Anselm (#5) handed the 8th ranked Pace University Setters their first loss of the season.

The Hawks got on the board first in the 23rd minute of play, when sophomore Hannah Friend netted her fourth goal of the year off an assist by senior Mia Vecchione.

With just 32 seconds left, Pace responded to Friend’s goal with one of their own to tie the game, forcing things into overtime. After an initial failed corner, Vecchione netted her third goal of the season 3:21 into OT.

In a post-game interview with Hawk Athletics, Vecchione credited the win to her team’s collective determination. “On a hot day like today you just wanna finish it, so we got into a huddle before we started playing, and we said right off the bat we are just gonna put it in. We got a corner, we didn’t execute on it, but then we said next time we get a shot on net it’s going in and that’s what we did.”

The Hawks defense also did their part to grab the victory. Pace’s lone goal was their only shot of the night on Saint Anselm’s freshman goal keeper Julia Hand. The rookie’s career record has now improved to a flawless 5-0. Pace’s goalkeeper Lesly Sanchez Alvarez had five saves on seven Saint Anselm shots.

Saint Anselm’s Head Coach, Carolyn King Robitaille, knew getting past Pace’s strong defense would be the greatest challenge. “They haven’t really led up more than one goal in all their games this season, they are really strong defensively. I thought if we could score two goals we could win this game, and we had to score two, so we did what we wanted to do and came out with the win.”

The Hawks will attempt to keep their perfect streak alive on the road for three consecutive away games this week. They will face off against Franklin Pierce, Southern Connecticut State, and Mercy.

Saint Anselm’s next home match at Grappone Stadium is set for Wednesday Oct. 4th at 7 PM, against NE-10 rival Merrimack College.