The Sacred Heart field hockey team took home the hockey gold medal at the 2005 Arrive alive Eastern University Games with a 2-1 win over Charles Sturt University Bathurst Thursday afternoon.

Junior Becky Ford scored the first goal early on, rebounding the ball off the keeper's pads and into the net. Only a few minutes later senior Nicole Falco picked up a rebound off and slipped it across the net to Ford who put away another. The score remained 2-0 until late in the first half when CSUB slid one past Del Greco.

The second half was tense with CSUB putting constant pressure on the Pioneer defense. CSUB created a number of scoring opportunities, but junior Ashley Del Greco used some outstanding goal keeping to turn them away. With 30 seconds left in the game junior Colleen Carney, at about the 25 yd line on the left side of the field, drilled a perfect pass to the opposite post that Ford tipped in for her third score of the day. The goal was disallowed following a discussion by the officials, but time ran out before CSUB could try to tie, giving the Pioneers the gold.

"I am really proud of the girls and how they handled themselves especially in this last game," stated head coach Chris Blais. "Despite the pressure from the opposing team and the environment, the team was able to remain poised and focused. Winning this tournament was a great accomplishment and it makes us all very excited for the upcoming season!"

Contact: Funda Alp (alpf@sacredheart.edu)

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