Slippery Rock field hockey continued its early‑season surge Saturday, knocking off No. 9 Lander University to move to 3-0 overall, the program’s best start to a season since 2018. SRU entered the matchup coming off dominant wins at home over Frostburg State and Coker University.
Senior Lucy Hutchinson wasted no time putting SRU in front. Just 6:33 into the game, the Norwich, England native redirected a feed from Roz Mikulak into the cage for a 1-0 lead. Hutchinson nearly doubled the advantage late in the first quarter, but her shot with 14:23 left in the opening frame was turned away by Lander goalkeeper Avery Tworkoski.
SRU’s offensive pressure paid off again midway through the second quarter. After Grace Williams rang a shot off the post, junior Coral Piramo cleaned up the rebound and pushed a wide‑open look into the net, stretching the lead to 2-0. Additional attempts from Hillary Hoffman and Williams couldn’t find the goal, but The Rock carried its two‑goal margin into halftime.
Early in the third, SRU continued to generate chances. After a wide attempt from junior Riley Cloude, Hutchinson re‑entered for Williams and immediately made her presence felt. Three minutes later, she buried her second goal of the afternoon and fifth of the season, already matching her entire scoring total from last year just three games into her 2026 campaign.
Lander finally broke through 44 seconds into the fourth quarter when Mirte Van Roosebeke converted a penalty stroke for her first goal of the season, trimming the deficit to 3-1. Both teams traded shots the rest of the way, but neither found the cage as SRU closed out its first win over a ranked opponent since 2017.
Hutchinson led the attack with two goals on six shots, including five on goal. Piramo added the third goal off the bench. In net, Sam Black anchored the defense with a full 60‑minute effort, recording four saves and allowing just one goal.
Slippery Rock field hockey will look for their first 4-0 start since 1978 when they host Converse University on Sept. 18 at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
