SPARKILL, N.Y. – Senior
Kyleigh Kearney delivered a career-high four goals to power Pace University Field Hockey team to a 5-1 Northeast-10 Conference victory at St. Thomas Aquinas College on Tuesday afternoon. The win moves the Setters to 5-6 overall and 4-2 in NE10 play.
Kearney's four-goal performance marked the first by a Setter since
Krista Dietz on Oct. 18, 2023, highlighting a dominant offensive display. Pace controlled the game from start to finish, piling up 33 total shots and 19 penalty corners while holding the Spartans to just two shots across 60 minutes.
After St. Thomas Aquinas opened the scoring just over five minutes in, the Setters answered less than three minutes later. Kearney tied the game in the seventh minute off a feed from
Romy Manditsera, sparking a wave of early offensive pressure that included six penalty corners in the opening quarter.
The Setters broke the game open in the second period with three unanswered goals. Kearney gave Pace the lead in the 18th minute, finishing a pass from
Sydney Sims. Just four minutes later, Josefina Villa Alons extended the advantage to 3-1 off a setup from
Feline Rook. Kearney then completed her hat trick in the 28th minute—again assisted by Rook—to send Pace into halftime up 4-1.
Pace continued its dominance after the break, maintaining possession and outshooting the Spartans 15-1 over the final 30 minutes. Kearney struck again in the 39th minute for her fourth goal of the day, sealing the 5-1 victory. The Setters' defense remained airtight, holding STAC without a shot in both the second and fourth quarters.
Morgan Strecker and
Caitlyn Zabko split time in goal, combining to allow just one goal while making a save apiece. Kearney led all players with 10 shots (six on goal), while Sims, Rook, Manditsera, and
Molly Paterson also generated consistent opportunities in the circle.
Pace continues its road stretch of contests with a meeting against a top-five team in all the land, No. 4 East Stroudsburg University. The match-up begins at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday afternoon in Pennsylvania.
