Phillips gives field hockey season-opening victory

HOBOKEN, N.J. – Senior Caroline Phillips (Wilmington, Del./Concord) of the Juniata College field hockey squad ripped 10 shots against Manhattanville College Friday night in the Stevens Institute of Technology Tournament just hoping that one would find the back of the cage. 

And one did. In the 36^th minute of the contest, Phillips took an unassisted shot, her sixth of the night, that pushed Juniata (1-0) passed the Valiants 1-0.

Phillips wasn't the only Juniata player to rack-up some serious shot totals. Freshmen Sara Bilheimer (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) recorded seven and Brittany Meier (Pennsylvania Furnace, Pa./State College Area) had six, as part of a 39 shot performance from the Eagles. 

Despite the 39 shots, Juniata could only get it by Amy Hilton, Manhattanville's goalie, on one occasion. Hilton chalked-up a total 17 saves, eight in period one and nine during the second half, in the 70 minutes of play.

On the other side of the ball, Manhattanville (0-1) took just eight shots in the contest, seven of which came in the last 23 minutes of the game. Juniata senior goalie Janelle Howard (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) wasn't highly tested in the match, but when she was she remained steady and recorded three saves, including protecting the cage from a penalty corner called with no time remaining in the game that resulted in a Valiant shot that hit the crossbar. 

Juniata next hosts Elizabethtown College on Wednesday, September 5, at 4:00 pm. The Eagles will open at home for the first time on Goodman Field at Knox Stadium's synthetic turf playing surface against the Blue Jays.

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