WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Olivia Muffitt scored in the final four minutes to propel Saint Francis past LIU 3-2 in Northeast Conference field hockey action on Sunday.
>> Dolores Zavaleta (San Juan, Argentina) registered an assist on all three Red Flash goals on the day.
>> Eva Valentini (Junin, Argentina) added two more goals and finished the week with three tallies and an assist for seven points.
>> Saint Francis opens NEC play winning two of its first three matches for the third time in program history to match its second-best start in league play.
 
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
After the Sharks tied the match at 2 at the 53:01 mark, Muffitt hit the back of the cage for the decisive score off a Zavaleta feed at 56:42 to hand the lead to Saint Francis for good. LIU did not register a shot in the final three minutes and 18 seconds of the game.
 
FLASH MOMENTS
Zavaleta found Valentini at the 39-minute mark to tie the score at 1 and then the two connected against 52:36 to give the Loretto program a 2-1 edge.
 
The lead was short-lived after LIU tied the game 25 seconds later, but Muffitt brought home the win for the Red Flash a few minutes later.
 
FLASH NUGGETS
With her two goals on the afternoon, Valentini becomes eighth different player to score 10 goals in a season and marks the 13th time in program history a player has reached double digits in goals in a single campaign. On the career charts, she moved into seventh place in both career points (46) and goals (18). The sophomore scored twice in a game for the third time in her career and second time in 2022.
 
Zavaleta becomes the third player in program history to dish out three assists in game, joining Selena Adamshick against Colgate on September 14, 2014 and Nikki Snyder at Rider on September 1, 2014. Zavaleta and Snyder each had three helpers in a game, while Adamshick holds the program record with four assists in a contest.
 
Zavaleta has recorded all eight points in 2022 in the last four games with two goals and four assists, and she registered four assists on the weekend. The sophomore now has two markers and eight assists for 12 points in her career. 
 
Muffitt registered her third goal of the season after also scoring against Brown on September 2 and James Madison on September 23. The junior has three goals and one assist for seven points this season and five tallies and one assist for 11 points in her career.
 
Chloe South (California, Md.) notched her third win of the season after playing all 60 minutes for the first time this season on Sunday with four saves. South has 41 saves, a 1.97 goals against average and a .732 save percentage this season.
 
Saint Francis also started the league slate 2-1 in 2007, 2011 while the 2012 team has the best start in NEC program history with a 3-0 start in 2012.
 
NEXT GAME
The Red Flash return to action when they host NEC preseason favorite Fairfield on Friday. Game time is 4:30 p.m. The Stags will also come into the match 2-1 in league play.