WORCESTER, Mass. (Aug. 29, 2008) – Freshman midfielder Traci Flick (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville) (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville) scored the team's first hat trick in three years to lead the Saint Francis women's soccer team to a 4-2 win over Holy Cross on Friday at the Smith Soccer Stadium in Worcester, Mass.
The Red Flash will remain in Massachusetts to take on the Northeastern Huskies in a 5 p.m. contest on Sunday at the Parsons Field in Boston, Mass.
“We made two mistakes in the first half and we were down 2-1 at half time,” said head coach Brenda van Stralen. “But we come out pretty strong in the second half. Hard work really got the job done today. Traci Flick (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville) is only a freshman, and she scored a hat trick. It only goes up from here.”
Holy Cross's Paige Harrison scored first on a penalty kick 16 minutes into the first half. The Crusaders scored again six minutes later, when Shelby Stand made a pass to Katherine Donnelly, who fired it into the left corner.
The Red Flash battled back, scoring with only a minute left in the first half. Sophomore Lauren Compton (Red Hill, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) (Red Hill, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) passed to senior Jennilee Morrison (Jeannette, Pa./Jeannette) (Jeannette, Pa./Jeannette) inside the box. Morrison then hit the right corner of the net to score her first goal of the season.
The second half was all about Flick, as her first shot became her first collegiate goal. Denise Eckert (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Arcadia) (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Arcadia) made a cross pass to Flick, who nailed a shot into the left corner. Flick's next two shots would all be goals as well, marking the first time a Saint Francis soccer player scored a hat trick since 2005, when Nicole Khanna scored had three goals against Delaware State on Sept. 7.
Alanna Vespa (Ancaster, Ontario/Saint Mary’s Catholic) (Ancaster, Ontario/Saint Mary's Catholic) made a quick pass to Flick, who headed it into the left corner a mere three minutes after her last goal. Then it was Natalie Santoleri (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena)'s (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) to get the assist. Santoleri made a cross pass to Flick, who then hit it directly into the middle of the net.
Today's win marks the second consecutive game the Red Flash have made a strong showing against a Patriot League team. They tied the defending league champion Bucknell Bison 1-1 last weekend at DeGol Soccer Complex.
