INDIANA, Pa. - Senior goalie Olivia Accardi posted five saves and recorded her first shutout of the year as the Crimson Hawks earned a 1-0 conference-opening win over rival Slippery Rock Wednesday afternoon at Miller Stadium. 

It was Accardi's second career shutout in her 22nd start, helping the IUP field hockey team improve to 2-6 overall and 1-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Slippery Rock fell to 5-4 overall and 0-1 in the league. 

Freshman midfielder Renee Lauer tallied the lone score for the Crimson Hawks in the 16th minute of play. Classmate Hannah Miller grabbed a loose ball to the right of the cage and fed Lauer on the opposite side, who pushed it past the Rock goalie for the score. 

Seven minutes after Lauer's goal, Accardi took on an SRU onslaught and saved three straight shots off a penalty corner to keep The Rock off the board. It ended up being their best scoring chance of the game as the IUP defense continue to block shots, turn away passes, and clear its defensive zone. 

Slippery Rock had one final chance at the tie with a penalty corner with no time on the clock, but the initial pass zoomed passed SRU offensive players to end the game. 

IUP outshot Slippery rock 6-5 and held a 11-8 advantage in penalty corners.

Up next
The Crimson Hawks are back in action at seventh-ranked Millersville (4-3, 0-1) Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m.

Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP field hockey on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPfieldhockey.