Crossman's hat trick leads Pinkerton field hockey past Bishop Guertin (video)

DERRY - Jaelyn Crossman wasn't thinking about getting a goal, at least, not for herself.

Just moments after returning from a card, the Pinkerton Academy senior had the ball just inside the circle, in a position for a reverse hit. There was a lot of traffic in front and all Crossman was trying to do was put the ball in a place where someone would tip it in.

Instead, the shot found its way to the far corner of the cage off Crossman's stick for the second of her three goals on the day, as the Astros came back from a first-quarter deficit for a 3-1 win Monday over Bishop Guertin.

"I was just trying to catch them off guard, trying to get a goal or even just get a tip from my teammates to score," Crossman said of what proved to be the game-winning goal. "Whatever I can do to generate something inside the circle."

The shot seemed to surprise the Cardinals' defense as it crossed through the circle and found the far corner of the goal just 1:50 into the second half. Taking the lead for the first time seemed to give Pinkerton (11-3-1, No. 7 in the NHHSSports Coaches Poll) a spark, as the Astros were able to keep the ball in Bishop Guertin's end for most of the quarter.

Crossman made it 3-1 on a penalty corner with no time remaining in the third on another reverse hit.

"Try a few things, see what we’re able to do," Pinkerton coach Jen Resmini said of what the second allowed the Astros to do. "But it also to see if we can hold a lead for the fourth quarter. They did. I give (goalie) Molly (Kuncik) a lot of credit."

Kuncik had just four saves on the day, but one came early in the fourth quarter, when Bishop Guertin's Carly Green had the ball down low. The goal was open for a moment, but Kuncik was able to get back in position to make the save before Green was able to get the shot off.

"She had a beauty of a save down there, moving her feet and doing some of the things she’s been working on," Resmini said of her goalie. "She shows herself, as a freshman, to be a really tough defender back there."

Meaghan Shea and Ayvree Hamilton each had assists for Pinkerton while Bishop Guertin (10-4-1, No. 6) got a goal from Maddie Harrington with 2:57 remaining in the first quarter and five saves from Ayla Saeturn.

The Cardinals, after winning 10 of their first 12 games, have now dropped three straight to teams that are also among the top eight in Division I. With one game left in the regular season, Bishop Guertin knows it will likely be hosting a preliminary round game instead of getting a bye into the quarterfinals.

"We’ve had three close ones that could have gone either way, (Monday) being one of them," Bishop Guertin coach Dakota Bilodeau said. "I don’t think the score reflects how we played. We’ll make adjustments and continue to work hard. We’re right there."