buried a penalty corner in the waning seconds of the second overtime period to clinch a 3-2 win for Saint Francis against Ball State in the field hockey opener for both teams.
at the left side of the circle and nailed the shot into the cage in the 80th minute to hand the Red Flash a come-from-behind victory.
posted two goals on the afternoon.
came up big in the cage with 19 saves, the fourth most in a single game in program history.
After the Cardinals took a 2-1 lead in the third quarter,
Madison Waldspurger fed Castro with four minutes and 53 seconds left in regulation to even the score at 2. DiGenova came up big for the Red Flash with 13 saves in the final 35 minutes of the match, including 20 minutes of overtime to help Zavaleta score in the waning seconds to secure the season-opening win for the second-straight season. After de Castro tied the game, DiGenova had seven stops the rest of the way.Â
FLASH MOMENTS
De Castro tied the game with her first score of the day in the 14th minute unassisted.
FLASH NUGGETS
Zavaleta notched her fifth career game-winner and her second collected in overtime. The senior now has seven goals and 12 assists for 26 points in her career. Myers, who appeared In 37 games at La Salle, and Donmoyer notched their first career assist on the decisive score.
De Castro is a huge fan of season openers and registered four of her five career goals in the inaugural game of the year in her freshman campaign against Queens (Charlotte) on August 25, 2023.
DiGenova registered 19 saves in the game after posting 21 stops in her freshman campaign. It also marked the first time in her career that she played the whole time and more than 30 minutes in a game. She had eight saves against Lehigh on September 15, 2023, for her best mark last season.
Waldspurger, an All-Northeast Conference second-team performer in 2023, has seven goals and eight assists for 22 points in her career.Â
Donmoyer,
Hannah Capo,
Cruz Cánepa,
Kylee Hager,
Sofia Marciano,
Gates McAllister, and
Josefina Sayal Aguirre each made their collegiate debut, while Myers and
Brooklyn Widdess both made their Saint Francis debuts in the contest.
Grace Reed made her first collegiate start in the match.Â
Allessie becomes the first head coach to win her first game on the road and only the second Red Flash head coach to win her first game overall, joining her predecessor, Maria Bettiana Ceretta.Â
It is the seventh time in program history that the team has won the year's inaugural game, joining the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2023 seasons, and the third time on the road (2012 and 2018).
It was the second time Saint Francis had defeated Ball State, the last time coming in the 2018 season opener. It was also the third time since 2018 that the two teams had opened the season against each other.
UP NEXT
Like the start of the 2018 and 2022 seasons, Saint Francis will play Miami (Ohio) in its second contest on Sunday. Match time is noon.
