SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Sophomore Haley Klinger (Lancaster, Pa./Garden Spot) netted her first career hat trick, leading an IUP field hockey scoring barrage in a 5-2 Crimson Hawks' win at Slippery Rock on Friday night.
 
Two of Klinger's three goals came in the second half, outscoring Slippery Rock herself on the way to the victory. IUP ended a three-game losing streak with the win and improved to 5-7 overall on the year and 3-4 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
 
The win was big for the Crimson Hawks, who moved into fifth place in the PSAC standings with three mandated conference games left to play in the regular season.
 
Slippery Rock is one of six teams behind IUP in the standings, falling to 5-8 overall and 2-4 in the league.
 
The three goals were the first of the year for Klinger, which is tied for second on the team. The midfielder's first goal came in the 24th minute and gave the Crimson Hawks a 2-1 lead. Her second was the first score of the second half as IUP took a 3-1 lead in the 42nd minute.
 
After a Slippery Rock goal three minutes later, Klinger scored her final goal in the 50th minute to put the Crimson Hawks on top by a score of 4-2.
 
All of Klinger's goals came off of passes from junior Ericka Griffith (Lititz, Pa./Warwick), who finished with three assists on the night. Each goal also came off of a corner, three of the Crimson Hawks' 10 in the game.
 
Slippery Rock scored the first goal of the game in the 13th minute, but IUP quickly responded with a goal by freshman Matti Reightler (Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic), her team-leading fourth of the season. Klinger scored the next three IUP goals, with sophomore Brittany Thornton (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) wrapping up the scoring in the 55th minute.
 
With five goals on Friday and another four at Mercyhurst in their last game on Wednesday, the Crimson Hawks have a combined nine goals in their last two games. That's the most over a two-game span since also scoring a combined nine against Bellarmine and East Stroudsburg in Oct. 2013.
 
That was IUP's last road regular season game of the season. The Crimson Hawks will finish with six straight home games over the final three weeks of the season. Their next game is next Saturday, Oct. 17 at home against nationally-ranked East Stroudsburg.
 
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP field hockey on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPfieldhockey.