AIC YELLOW JACKETS (1-0, 0-0 NE-10)
vs.
SLIPPERY ROCK (1-0, 0-0 PSAC)



Sunday, September 4, 2016
Ronald J. Abdow Field, 125 Cortland Street, Springfield, Mass.

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LEADERS:

AIC:
Goals:Chelsea Davis 1
Assists:Anna King 1
Points:Chelsea Davis 2, Anna King 1
Goalkeeper:Taylor Ross 1-0, 0.00 GAA, 1.00 SV%, 1 SO

SLIPPERY ROCK:
Goals:Alison Grant 1, Jordan Barnes 1
Assists:Megan McKay 1
Points:Alison Grant 2, Jordan Barnes 2, Megan McKay 1
Goalkeeper:Nicole Bream 1-0, 0.00 GAA, 1.00 SV%, 1 SO

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--American International College Field Hockey will do battle with Slippery Rock University in the second game of the weekend and season for both squads after both opened the 2016 campaign with triumphs over St. Thomas Aquinas College.

LAST TIME OUT:Though both teams started the season with wins over the Spartans, the means to that end were very different. The Yellow Jackets battled, and over the course of the game came to dominate, outshooting the Spartans 17-5 including a 14-3 edge in chances on target, but they needed overtime to secure a win, with a goal by freshman Chelsea Davis on a penalty corner at 77:33 as the only tally of the contest. The Yellow Jackets certainly had chances; in the second half they outshot St. Thomas Aquinas 8-3 and out-cornered the Spartans 6-1, but could not find the cage until the very end.
Slippery Rock dominated from the outset, and found the cage once in each half as a result. Alison Grant opened the scoring late in the first half, and the Rock poured it on after the break, racking up a dozen corners in total and a 21-0 shot edge in the latter frame alone; Jordan Barnes netted her first tally of the season in the second, and goalkeeper Nicole Bream did not face a shot on target in the shutout win.

LAST TIME THEY MET:Last September, the two squads clashed in Pennsylvania, with the Rock coming away with a 4-1 win. Renee Rosenblum, Alyssa Castle, Megan McKay, and Kailee Krupski had the goals for Slippery Rock. The Jackets were outshot 9-0 in the first half of that contest, but evened the shot totals at 5-5 in the second frame and also drew all three of their offensive penalty corners in that portion of the contest.

BACK WHERE IT ALL BEGAN:From 2006-2009, Slippery Rock Head Coach Julie Swiney was the Head Coach of AIC Field Hockey, and in her four years at the helm, the team showed improvement in every season. She recruited current Assistant Coach Linsey Fernandes as a player in 2008, and brought on now-Head Coach Ashley Mazzoli as her assistant for the 2009 season. The four years of classes she recruited while in charge of the program combined in the 2010 campaign under Mazzoli and former Head Coach Stacey Blue to reach the NE-10 and NCAA Tournaments for the first time in program history.

FIRST OF MANY:Three Yellow Jackets secured firsts in their win over St. Thomas Aquinas. For Davis, the winner was her first career goal; sophomore Anna King picked up the assist for her first career point. Sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Ross earned her first shutout on home turf, with her lone shutout last season coming at Pace.

NEXT UP:AIC keeps up the homestand on Wednesday when they host Saint Michael's at 5:00 p.m. The contest between the two Northeast-10 teams does not count for conference play; they meet again in Vermont in the season finale October 26 for the NE-10 matchup.