TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University field hockey took on the Saint Francis Red Flash in its home opener. It was a great offensive performance using a Sarah Hatfield hat trick to win 5-1.
Record:
Towson – 1-2, 0-0 CAA
Saint Francis – 1-2, 0-0 NEC
Key Stats:

• Sarah Hatfield led the scoring for Towson with her first career hat trick. Freshman Anouk Westerink scored the other two goals from a pair of corners.
• Kristin Strijdom picked up three assists in the game, with Fiene Valkenburg right behind her with two.  
• Tessa Scheenstra picked up the win with three saves.
• For Saint Francis, Consu de Castro scored her third goal of the season, and Mia DiGenova had six saves in the loss.

How It Happened:

• Towson struck early as Sarah Hatfield received a pass from Kristin Strijdom and slotted the ball past Saint Francis goalie Mia DiGenova to put the Tigers up one less than a minute into the game.
• Megan Popp looked to add a second goal a few minutes later but DiGenova kicked it away.
• Strijdom and Hatfield would link up again with under two minutes left in the first to double the Tiger's lead.
• The Tigers won a corner midway through the second, where Anouk Westerink put the ball in the back of the net. Strijdom also picked up her third assist of the game.
• With five minutes left in the half, Saint Francis won multiple corners, but a double save from Tessa Scheenstra denied the Red Flash its first goal.
• Towson would strike in the first minute of the second half as well as Westerink drew a penalty stroke and Hatfield put it away to earn her hattrick.
• Westerink would score from another corner to push the lead to five late in the third, and freshman Fiene Valkenburg would earn her second assist of the game.
• Tatum Dobbins had a shot with a few minutes left in the fourth to attempt to make it six, but it hit off the post.
• Saint Francis got on the board with around ninety seconds remaining as Consu de Castro scored from a corner. Towson finished the game for a 5-1 win.

Inside The Numbers:

• Sarah Hatfield's hat trick was the first hat trick from a Towson Tiger since Casey Howard on October 24, 2009.
• Hatfield's hat trick puts her 11th in Towson history with 18 career goals, and in a three way tie for 14^th in Towson history with 40 career points.
• Kristin Strijdom's three assists were a new career high.
• Today's game was the first time Towson has scored five goals in a game since September 18, 2011, in a 5-1 win at Georgetown.

Next up:

• Towson is back at home on Sunday as it takes on the Wagner Seahawks at noon.