WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
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Riley Kromer, who has battled injuries over the last three years, scored for Saint Francis on Senior Day on Sunday. It was her first goal since 2021. Kromer's tally was the bright side of the match after Bellarmine came away with a 2-1 double overtime win in non-conference field hockey action on Sunday.
>> Kromer was one of seven seniors honored before the game on Sunday.Â
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Amber Bryan made two saves on the afternoon in her first start in 2024, while
Chloe Butz registered an assist on Kromer's tally.
>> The attention turns to Friday when the Red Flash hosts Merrimack in league play, hoping to lock up its third-straight Northeast Conference Tournament bid.
TURNING POINTS OF THE MATCH
Saint Francis outshot the Knights in the first overtime period, with the Bellarmine goalkeeper making saves on shots by
Sofia Marciano (60:54), Butz (61:51, 68:24),
Kylee Hager (63:45),
Consu de Castro (66:39, 68:59) and Cruz Canepa (67:27).
Bellarmine had all three chances in the second overtime before one slipped into the cage at 73:13 to end the game.
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FLASH MOMENTS
Kromer tied the game at one after she knocked in a pass from Butz at 24:57, and the game ended deadlocked until the second overtime period.
FLASH NUGGETS
It was Kromer's first score at DeGol Field in her career after posting markers at Georgetown (October 17, 2021) and Fairfield (October 22, 2021) in back-to-back matches. She started 19 games that season but has been limited to just 15 games in her last three seasons, and she made her first start since 2021 on Sunday.
Butz notched her second assist of the season and sixth of her career to go with two goals for 10 points.
Bryan made her first start of the season and now has 86 saves in 39 career games. She was named to the All-NEC second team last season.
Kromer, Bryan,
Brooke Benson,
Dolores Zavaleta,
Alli Kirsch,
Ami Mattingly, and
Haley Connor all started on senior day, with Connor getting her first career nod.
The conference season ends on Friday, November 1. The Red Flash has to defeat Merrimack in the regular season finale to have a chance. There are two paths for the Loretto team to make it with a win. A Fairfield loss to Stonehill or an LIU loss to Sacred Heart are the most straightforward paths. A Fairfield loss would put Saint Francis in a tie with Fairfield and Stonehill, and the Red Flash would win that tiebreaker. A Fairfield loss is the key for Saint Francis because even with an LIU win, the Red Flash would advance in a four-way tiebreaker with LIU, Fairfield, and Stonehill because LIU would be the team that takes the three-seed in that four-team tiebreaker and then Saint Francis would again win the three-way tiebreaker with Fairfield and Stonehill. LIU and Saint Francis are currently tied at 4-3, so an LIU loss and an SFU win would move the Red Flash ahead of the Sharks in the standings.
UP NEXT
Saint Francis wraps up NEC play at home against Merrimack on Friday. The Red Flash will be collecting canned food for the SAAC Canned Food initiative.Â
