INDIANA, Pa. – Kasey Rieger scored twice as No. 7 IUP field hockey pulled away in the second half for a 4-1 victory over Mansfield on Tuesday night.
The Crimson Hawks controlled the offensive opportunities throughout the night, finishing with an 18-3 advantage in shots and an 11-3 edge in shots on goal. IUP also generated 11 penalty corners while limiting Mansfield to three.
After a scoreless opening quarter, Rieger broke through for the Crimson Hawks at the 22:49 mark to send IUP into halftime with a 1-0 advantage.
Sydney Schmouder doubled the lead early in the third quarter, finding the cage at 32:30 for her second goal in as many games after scoring the game-winner in IUP's 1-0 victory over No. 5 Bloomsburg on Saturday.
Mansfield cut the deficit to one early in the fourth quarter when Kylee Boardman scored off an assist from Jenna Duke at 47:05.
IUP responded just over three minutes later.
Rieger struck for her second goal of the night at 50:13, with Grace McGeehan providing the assist to push the Crimson Hawks back in front by two.
Lauren Horning put the game away with IUP's fourth goal at 56:56, giving the Crimson Hawks two fourth-quarter goals and their largest lead of the night.
Rieger paced IUP with three shots, putting all three on goal and scoring twice. Horning added three shots with two on goal, while Schmouder scored on her lone attempt. McGeehan finished with an assist and two shots.
Freshman goalkeeper Kaelin Koehler made two saves in 60 minutes as the IUP defense held Mansfield without a shot over the opening 30 minutes and surrendered just three attempts for the game.
The victory continued a strong stretch for the Crimson Hawks, who entered Tuesday after moving up two spots to No. 7 in the latest NFHCA Division II Coaches Poll.
IUP returns to action Saturday, hosting West Chester at 1 p.m. for Senior Day.
