Field hockey sets margin of victory records

Noah Fleischman Contributing Writer

Field Hockey returned to Richmond and picked up two more victories — including an Atlantic-10 Conference win over St. Louis University — setting multiple school records during the big wins at home.

Towson

The Black and Gold defeated the Towson University Tigers in a 9-0 rout Sunday afternoon with five different Rams recording goals at Cary Street Field.

The nine-goal victory marked VCU’s largest goal margin since joining the A-10.

VCU took an early lead as sophomore midfielder Maite Sturm connected on a pass from star senior forward Emily McNamara seven and-a-half minutes into the contest. Sturm also recorded two assists in Sunday’s win.

McNamara recorded her second hat trick of the season, bringing her season goal total to 12. She, like Sturm, added two assists for the Rams.

Graduate midfielder Shannon Pereira scored two goals for the second straight game. Pereira transferred from A-10 foe St. Francis University, where she started all 54 games and received All-Atlantic-10 honors during her three seasons there.

Sophomore midfielder Svea Sturm added two goals for the Rams and freshman defender Litiana Field scored once.

VCU had 35 shots, including 25 shots on goal against the Tigers. Towson recorded four shots and had one on goal.

St. Louis

It was a wet and dreary day in Richmond as Hurricane Florence moved up the east coast, but the Black and Gold walked away from St. Louis with a 7-1 win. McNamara led the Rams with four goals.

The six-goal margin of victory was VCU’s second largest since joining the A-10, the largest being a 7-0 victory over La Salle University in 2017. It is now third after Sunday’s 9-0 victory over Towson.

McNamara scored 15 minutes in for her first goal of the game. The tally set a new VCU record of goals and points in a career, breaking Kelsey Scherrer’s 53 goals and 130 points. McNamara logged three more goals in the contest, all in the second half.

Pereira got the scoring started 13 minutes into the match in a one-on-one opportunity. The goal marked Pereira’s first since joining the Rams. Pereira scored again 23 minutes into the game to make the score 3-0 in favor of the Rams. She also recorded two assists in the win over the Billikens.

Maite Sturm added the seventh goal 45 minutes into the game. The goal was the first of the season for Sturm, who scored six last season.

VCU recorded 23 shots and a season-high 19 shots on goal Friday afternoon. St. Louis recorded five total shots, four on goal.

Freshman goalkeeper Sasha Elliott recorded three saves.

The Rams continue their 2018 campaign against the University of Richmond Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. at Cary Street Field.