BOONE, N.C. - App State field hockey cruised past Bellarmine 7-2 Saturday, sparked by a hat trick-effort from senior
Meghan Smart.
Smart, who leads the Mid-American Conference in goals scored, increased her goal tally to nine this spring season, a career high.
"I'm really proud of our team for putting in what we've been working on for weeks into a game setting," head coach Meghan Dawson said. "We had everyone from the bench contribute today and it was a huge team win. We're excited to get back out there and compete as one unit."
With their third straight win, the Mountaineers improved to 6-5 overall. Carli Ciocco, Veerle Van Heertum, Anna Smarrelli and Peyton Ritchey each joined in on the offensive party Saturday by recording a goal.
Both Smarrelli and Ritchey scored their first goals of the season, while Ritchey's fourth-quarter goal was the first of her career.
Seven goals on the day marked a season high and the most goals scored in a single-game win since 1982 in which App State defeated Wake Forest 8-1. The Mountaineers scored twice in three of four quarters.
Chloe Bell,
Abby Merrill,
Friederike Stegen and
Sarah Farrell each accounted for an assist Saturday. Stegen is now one assist away from tying Bridgette Burkhardt (18) for second all-time in career assists in program history.
Defensively, App State held Bellarmine to just two shots Saturday, but the Knights ultimately found the back of the cage during both shot opportunities.
Game two of the home weekend series against Bellarmine is scheduled for noon Sunday at Brandon and Erica M. Adcock Field.
