Back on Top: #12 Field Hockey Claims Atlantic 10 Title with 1-0 Win Over VCU

Anna Miller's third-quarter goal was the difference as the 12th-ranked and top-seeded Saint Joseph's field hockey team topped second-seeded VCU 1-0, in the 2021 Atlantic 10 championship game at Ellen Ryan Field on Nov. 6.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Neither team found the cage in the first half as Saint Joseph's (16-4) controlled the run of play. The Hawks outshot the Rams 7-1 during the opening half hour and earned the only three penalty corners of the half.
   
• The Hawks got their breakthrough two and a half minutes into the third quarter as an effort by Manu Ghigliotti was saved off the post by VCU's Sasha Elliott. Miller corralled the loose ball and slotted it home to give SJU a 1-0 lead.
   
• VCU (12-6) pressed for a late equalizer, making a pair of forays into the offensive end in the closing minutes, but the Hawk defense held firm, setting off a celebration as the clock hit zero.

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE

• Saint Joseph's ended the game with a 13-2 advantage in shots and earned the game's only five corner opportunities.
   
• Robin Bleekemolen made two saves for her 10th shutout of the season, tying a school record set by Victoria Kammerinke in 2018. Elliott made six stops for VCU.
   
• The league crown is the fifth in program history and the fourth in the past five years for Saint Joseph's.
   
• The result matched that of the 2018 title game in which the Hawks also defeated the Rams 1-0 at Ellen Ryan Field. The Rams topped SJU in last season's final, 2-0, at VCU's Cary Street Field.
   
• Miller, Ghigliotti, Katy Benton, Sol Borensztein, and Freke van Tilburg were named to the All-Championship Team, with van Tilburg earning the event's Most Outstanding Player award.

UP NEXT

The Hawks will learn their NCAA Tournament assignment when the Division I Field Hockey Championship field is announced on Sunday Nov. 7, at 10 p.m.