Lewisburg, PA- The Red Flash opened their first CWPA weekend taking on a pair of ranked opponents. Saint Francis fell 10-5 to the tenth-ranked Princeton Tigers and 21-4 to the sixth-ranked Michigan Wolverines inside Kinney Natatorium at Bucknell University.
 
PRINCETON MATCH
Saint Francis took on the tenth-ranked Princeton Tigers in their morning match on Saturday, playing well but falling 10-5. After the teams traded turnovers on the first five possessions of the game, the Tigers struck first as Chelsea Johnson scored on a Haley Wan feed. Morgan Hallock made it 2-0 after she scored the first of what would be four goals in the match. After both teams came up empty on power plays, the Tigers went up 3-0, cashing in just after a second exclusion on the Red Flash had ended in the quarter. The Red Flash defense stood strong, killing off another exclusion, forced a shot clock violation and a Kate Wilke (Burbank, Calif./Burroughs) save thwarted the Tigers' offense. Kelly Fehr (Erie, Pa/Villa Maria Academy) got SFU on the board with her first of three on the day, as the freshman powered home a Tina Bonilla feed. The Tigers added a late goal to lead 4-1 after the first quarter.
 
Princeton would make it 5-1 early in the second before the defenses took over. The teams would again trade turnovers on five-straight possessions before Melani Aghazarian (Glendale, Calif./Glendale (La Valley College)) was called for an exclusion. SFU fought off that power play as well but Aimee Baur (North Wales, Pa/North Penn) was called for a penalty soon after, the Tigers converted just after that power play ended to lead 6-1.  The Tigers would stretch the lead out to 9-1 at the half.
 
SFU came out firing in the second half as Emily Wickenheiser (Mechanicsburg, Pa/Cumberland Valley) and Aghazarian scored on consecutive possessions. Princeton would answer to make it 10-3 before the defenses took over again. Each goalie made a pair of saves and the defenses combined to force eight turnovers over the final minutes of the quarter. In the fourth, Baur found a bit of bad luck, hitting the post on the Red Flash's opening possession. The Flash kept attacking as Erin O'Neill (Landsdale, Pa/North Penn) led the defense, she had three of her game-high six steals in the quarter. After Kate Wilke (Burbank, Calif./Burroughs) made a big save on a Tiger power play, Aghazarian found Fehr for her second goal of the game. Fehr would add one more right before the final horn, as SFU shutout the Tigers in the final quarter.
 
Princeton out shot SFU 20-16 as Kate Wilke (Burbank, Calif./Burroughs) made six stops on the day. Fehr led SFU with three goals while Aghazarian added a goal and two helpers. Defensively, O'Neill had six steals while Wickenheiser added four to go along with a goal and an assist. The loss drops SFU to 10-13 on the season and 0-2 in conference play.
 
 
MICHIGAN MATCH
The sixth-ranked Wolverines and the Red Flash got off to hot starts offensively. After the Red Flash won the opening sprint, Kelly Fehr (Erie, Pa/Villa Maria Academy) had her shot blocked down by the Michigan defense. The Wolverines came down and scored on their opening possession to take the early 1-0 lead. Fehr responded immediately, taking a Lani Merrill (San Clemente, Calif. /San Clemente (Saddleback College)) feed to tie the game at one with her fourth goal of the day. Michigan got rolling after the equalizer, closing the quarter on a 7-0 run. Fehr struck again at the start of the second quarter, this time finishing a feed from Emily Wickenheiser (Mechanicsburg, Pa/Cumberland Valley). After a pair of Michigan tallies, it was Wickenheiser's turn to find the net, cashing in on a Aghazarian feed to make it 10-3. The Wolverines' offense continued to roll as they would take a 14-3 lead into the half. Michigan would shut out the Red Flash in the third but Missy McCreary (Altadena, CA/LaSalle (Citrus College)) would find the net at the start of the fourth to round out the SFU scoring. Michigan outshot the Red Flash 29-20 on the match and Erin O'Neill (Landsdale, Pa/North Penn) led the defense once again, leading the way with three steals, giving her nine across the two matches. The Red Flash now sit at 10-14 on the season and 0-3 in CWPA play. They will face the host Bucknell Bison to round out the weekend on Sunday at 9 a.m.