GLASSBORO, N.J. – Catholic field hockey fell to Rowan, 1-6, on Wednesday evening at Coach Richard Wackar Stadium in Glassboro, N.J. 

The Cardinals battled hard against the familiar opponent whom they have faced 16 times since 2003. Catholic is now 4-7 against the Profs over the past decade and has moved to 2-4 on the season.

The game was scoreless for the first quarter thanks to the stellar defensive efforts of Catholic's back line, Emma Shallow, Mickey Bond and Oli Bond. The Profs got off six shots and were awarded two penalty corners to the Cardinals' zero in the opening 15 mins, but no damage was done.

Rowan opened the scoring with a goal five minutes into the second quarter. The hosts landed another shot a minute and a half later to double their lead. 

The Cardinal's responded quickly with a goal by Niki Micciche exactly three minutes later. The senior sent her third goal of the season to the back of the cage to bring Catholic back within one. Tess Hake fired a crossing pass from the corner to the front post. Micciche tapped the ball into the air over her defender's head and sprinted to the opposite side of the cage to guide the ball in. Goalkeeper Mariah Juiliano tried to make a diving save but was unable to recover in time . 

The Profs pulled ahead by two again with four minutes remaining in the half. They continued to put pressure on Catholic's defense after the break, adding another goal at the start of the third quarter and two more in the fourth to finish with a five goal advantage.

Junior goalkeeper Abigail Kearney made several impressive deflections despite the result, finishing with four saves in the contest. Through six games, Kearney has a total of 30 saves. Ella Bowman made her collegiate debut in goal during the contest, entering at the start the fourth quarter. The rookie made three saves.  

Micciche and O. Bond led the team with two shots on goal each while Lauren Keast added one. Mary Rojack, M. Bond, Shallow, and Keast played the entire 60 minutes while Nancy McGettigan added valuable minutes off the bench.

Catholic will open conference play this weekend when it travels to Huntingdon, Pa. to take on Juniata. The contest will start at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 21.