READING, Pa. – The Albright Lions field hockey team scored in the opening minute and did not look back as they defeated Immaculata 4-0 on Wednesday night in non-conference action at Shirk Stadium.

With the win, the Lions earn their third-straight win as they improve to 3-2 overall. Meanwhile, the Mighty Macs of the Atlantic East Conference fall to 3-5 overall. 

First-year Chelsea Johnson got the Lions off and running just 36 seconds into the contest as she blasted a one-timer past the Mighty Macs goalkeeper after she was fed the ball from sophomore Morgan Kopcik to put the Lions up 1-0. Immaculata got received a penalty corner opportunity in the fourth minute, but were unable to get a shot off. Albright dominated possession for the majority of the first quarter and had two scoring chances that just missed the inside of the cage. The Lions extended their lead just three minutes into the second quarter when sophomore Laurel Gingrich found the back of the cage off a scramble in front of the net. Kopcik had her initial shot blocked off a penalty corner before senior Kelly Ventura-Blanco collected the rebound and found Gingrich open. Gingrich nearly added her second goal of the game just before halftime as she had a pair of shots saved in front of the cage.

Albright picked up where they left off in the first half to start the third quarter as they received three penalty corners in a span of three minutes. The Lions cashed in on the last one when Johnson tipped in a shot from Kopcik at the top of the box to make it 3-0 at the 39th minute. Albright continued to dominate possession and first-year Jenna Crosby had a strong scoring chance saved in the 41st minute. Immaculata generated pressure in the final seconds of the third quarter, but were unable to get a shot off after a pass was sent wide of an attacker just in front of the cage. The Lions finished off the win with one more tally in the fourth quarter as Ventura-Blanco scored her first collegiate goal on a tip-in following a penalty corner. 

The Lions held the Mighty Macs without a shot in the contest and tallied 18 of their own with 12 going on the net. Albright also held a sizable 14-1 edge in penalty corners as well. Junior goalkeeper Adele Thomas registered her second shutout of the season as she did not face a shot in the full 60 minutes of action. Immaculata split time between goalkeepers as Julia Levase suffered the loss after starting the first 30 minutes in the cage and made five saves. Kopcik recorded three assists which tied a single-game program record that was previously matched in 2009 by Beth Moran against Wells. Johnson tallied two goals for the second-straight game, and Ventura-Blanco posted an assist to finish her night with two points.

Albright will return to action on Saturday, September 25th as they will host Lebanon Valley in MAC Commonwealth play at 4:30 p.m.