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In a battle of two teams that reached the NCAA Final Four a year ago, IUP opened its season with a resounding 4-0 victory over Bentley on Monday in Waltham, Mass. IUP entered the game ranked fifth in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association preseason poll, two spots behind Bentley. Bentley (0-1) played in the national championship game last November but was never in the contest against IUP after freshman Jess Frantz scored her first career goal with 26:57 expired in the first half, assisted by fellow first-year player Barbara Heemelaar. Liz Martini, who led the Crimson Hawks with 15 goals in 2006, scored 6:15 later on a penalty corner off an assist by Katie Schwartz to give IUP a 2-0 lead at halftime. The IUP defense held Bentley without a shot over the opening 35 minutes. Brittany Owens scored twice in the second half as the Crimson Hawks pulled away. She found the cage a little under 11 minutes into the half and again with 13:28 left in the game. Both tallies were unassisted. IUP finished the game with a 20-3 advantage in shots and took 14 of the 15 penalty corners in the contest. Lydia Dolly stopped all three Bentley shots while Falcon goalie Alyssa Sliney was credited with 10 saves. The Crimson Hawks conclude their two-game New England road trip with a Tuesday 1 p.m. game at UMass-Lowell.
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