Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – The Big Red field hockey team erased an early 1-0 deficit and then held off a surging Saint Joseph's squad to defeat the Hawks, 3-2, this afternoon at Drexel's Vidas Athletics Complex in Philadelphia, Pa. With the win, Cornell improves to 3-1 on the season, while SJU falls to 1-4.

Catie De Stio had a hand in all three Big Red goals with one tally and two assists, while Kat DiPastina and Hannah Balleza both found the back of the net for Cornell. Defensively, the Big Red got eight saves from goalkeeper Alex Botte, as well as a crucial defensive save by Elizabeth Schovee in the 57th minute of action.

Cornell held the advantage in shots (26-16), shots on goal (19-11), and penalty corners (10-6), but the Hawks were kept in the game by the stellar goalkeeping of Kelly Swanick, who stopped 16 shots.

SJU got on the board in just the sixth minute of the contest when Therese Doyle took a shot from the top of the arc that ricocheted off Botte and into the goal.

Back-to-back goals by De Stio and DiPastina in a two-minute span gave the Big Red a lead it would not relinquish as the teams went into the intermission with Cornell up, 2-1.

Less than three minutes after Schovee's defensive save, Balleza gave the Big Red what would be a necessary insurance goal when she redirected a pass from De Stio into the net at the 59:55 mark.

The Hawks turned up the heat in the final 10 minutes of the contest and saw their efforts pay off when Jen Wrublesky scored off a pass from Caitlyn Crane, but SJU could not find the equalizer.

The Big Red opens the home portion of its schedule next weekend when it welcomes Ivy League foe Penn to Marsha Dodson Field on Saturday, Sept. 18 at noon.