ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Slippery Rock University field hockey team scored three unanswered goals in the third quarter on the way to a 4-1 victory Sunday at Maryville University.
 
Sunday's non-conference victory improves The Rock's record to 4-3 overall in 2022 while the Saints drop to 2-5 following the loss.
 
SRU received goals from four different athletes in the win as Gianna Conti, Megan Rude, Bailee Christman and Haley Metcalf all found the back of the cage.
 
Conti's goal was her second in as many games and third of the season overall. Christman's strike also marked her third goal of the year. Rude has now produced a pair of goals early in her freshman season while Metcalf's goal was the first of her collegiate career.
 
Kayla Del Vecchio set up two of the goals as she exits the weekend with a team-high five assists. Erin Roland and Sammy Graci were both credited with assists as well, the first of the season for both.
 
Conti gave The Rock an early lead when she deflected a Del Vecchio shot past Saints goalkeeper Liz Bierhals in the 12th minute. Slippery Rock's one-goal advantage held for the next 24 minutes before a Paige Aiken goal early in the third quarter pulled Maryville even with SRU at 1-1.
 
However, Slippery Rock promptly put any thoughts of a Maryville comeback to rest with an impressive scoring onslaught that saw SRU tally three goals over a three-minute stretch to take a commanding three-goal lead into the fourth quarter.
 
Rude started the barrage when she deflected Roland's attempt in for what turned out to be the game-winning goal at 41:09. Just over two minutes later, Christman took a Graci pass and placed a low shot from the right side to far-left post in the 44th minute.
 
Metcalf capped off the blitz just over three-and-a-half minutes after Rude's go-ahead goal when she beat Bierhals courtesy of a Del Vecchio pass, giving The Rock a 4-1 lead.
 
Slippery Rock closed out the win in the fourth quarter when SRU goalkeeper Grace Burker stopped two Maryville shots to preserve the three-goal victory.
 
Over 60 minutes, Burker made five saves while giving up one goal.
 
For the game, Slippery Rock held commanding advantages over Maryville in total shots (23-9), shots on goal (9-6) and penalty corners (14-4).
 
Slippery Rock returns home to host Wingate University 12 p.m. Oct. 2 at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium on Friends in Field Hockey Day.




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