BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Junior forward Erin Tiwold set the Moravian College field hockey record with 10 points on four goals, which tied the school record, and two assists to help the Greyhounds post a 10-0 win over Cedar Crest College in non-conference action at Betty Prince Field Wednesday afternoon.
The Hounds, who improve to 4-1 on the season, tied the school record with 10 goals for the third time in school history. It is their largest offensive output since September 12, 1985, another 10-0 win versus Cedar Crest. Moravian also defeated Penn State-Berks 10-0 to start the 1981 campaign.
"We were a little sluggish in the beginning of the match but I think the girls pulled it together," commented Head Coach Amy Endler. "We started our passing game better, getting stick-to-stick passes rather than big balling it down the field. I think that was the key and finishing in the circle was excellent today."
The contest on Wednesday was scoreless through the first 21 minutes of action before Tiwold netted the opening goal as she tapped in a rebound after her initial shot was saved. Moravian pushed the lead to 2-0 in the 26th minute when junior forward Kyla Rodrigues scored from the right post on a crossing pass from senior forward Kelly O'Donnell. Just over a minute and a half later, O'Donnell blasted a shot from the middle of the circle off of a Tiwold pass to make it 3-0. Rodrigues would send the Greyhounds to the intermission with a 4-0 lead as she tapped in her third goal of the season on a rebound off of the post in the 29th minute.
Tiwold also started the scoring in the second half when she took a spin around shot off of an O'Donnell feed in the 38th minute, and Tiwold notched the 17th hat trick in school history on another spin around pass in the 49th minute. O'Donnell would net her team-leading ninth goal of the season in the 57th minute with a short shot off of a pass from Tiwold, and Tiwold scored her school-record tying fourth goal of the afternoon just 43 seconds later as she tapped in a shot off of a save.
"That's great for Erin to tie the school record, and I'm really proud of her especially today as we did this Green Out for Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness in honor of her and her dad so it was nice for her to get those four goals," explained Endler. "She's been struggling with her stick in the circle but today, especially in the second half, she was able to get her feet around and put the ball in the cage."
Moravian scored twice in the final 4:05 of the match with freshman midfielder/forward Elizabeth Hrehovcik netting her third tally of the fall when she knocked in her own rebounds, and freshman midfielder Jocelyn Vanic scored her first collegiate goal off of a feed from Rodrigues with just under two minutes to play.
"It was great to see the scoring spread out," noted Endler. "Kelly has been on fire with her scoring, and to have Kyla and the freshmen jump in there, I think that bodes well for the rest of the season."
The Hounds finished the contest with a 40-9 advantage in shots and a 13-9 edge in penalty corners. Junior goalie Megan Kanyuk made six saves including several late in the contest for her second shutout of the season and the fifth of her career.
"Megan was really focused today and I thought she did a nice job communicating," stated Endler. "She really focused in on the corners that they had to preserve the shutout."
Moravian will start a five-match road trip on Saturday, September 19 in a non-conference contest at FDU-Florham slated for 1:00 p.m. The Hounds will not return home until Saturday, October 3 when the squad hosts The Catholic University of America in a Landmark Conference match at 1:00 p.m. on Betty Prince Field.
