Ducks, Golden Flyers and President's Win at Home

9/10/2014 8:59:00 PM

Steffey Scores Hat Trick

W & J 5, Frostburg 1
Amanda Steffey scored all three of her goals during the opening 34 minutes and Washington & Jefferson cruised to a 5-1 non-conference field hockey victory over Frostburg State on Wednesday evening at Cameron Stadium.  Allison Morrissey added three assists for the Presidents during a game in which all six goals were scored in the first half. 

The Presidents (4-1) scored five times in the first half for the first time since finding the back of the cage the same amount of times on Sept. 6, 2012, versus Bethany (10-1 W&J win).

W&J opened the scoring six minutes in when Morrissey slid a pass to Lauren Brown, who pushed a shot past FSU starting goalie Jacqueline Gover. 

Steffey's first goal came off a pass from Catherine Beaudoin following a penalty corner at the 15:16 mark.  She struck again 10 minutes later. 

Courtney Abell put the Bobcats (2-3) on the scoreboard at the 27:20 mark; however, Beaudoin and Steffey tacked on goals less than three minutes apart and Washington & Jefferson took a 5-1 lead into the break. 

Morgan Brozena made three saves in the opening 35 minutes to earn the goalie victory.  Karlie Baran played the second half and produced a pair of stops. W&J outshot FSU 22-9. 


STEVENS 4, Drew 1
The Stevens Institute of Technology earned a 4-1 win over Drew University in its 2014 home-opener on Wednesday afternoon in front of a crowd of 444 people at the DeBaun Athletic Complex.
 
The Ducks wasted little time pushing deep into the Drew zone, generating three quick bids before finding the back of the net on the fourth. On the play, sophomore Nolie Prouty took the ball into the right side of the circle, crossed to freshman Victoria Alvarez, who touched to junior Dailyn Brook for her third goal of the season at 30:55 of the first.
 
The Ducks made it 2-0 a little more than 5:30 later when Brook inserted to junior captain Erin Silvestri on a penalty corner, and the ladder hammered a shot inside the near post for her third marker of the season. It was Brook's team-high fourth helper of the season.
 
Stevens continued to dominate the action, generating seven penalty corners in the first half of the opening period, and keeping the ball deep in the Drew zone for all but one of the first 20 minutes of game time.
 
The Rangers were able to generate several runs towards the Stevens goal late in the first half, but sophomore keeper Emily Stukenborg and the Ducks' "D" did enough to keep the Rangers off the board.
 
Stevens' lead swelled to three goals in the 31st minute of action after a turnover created a breakaway down the left side for sophomore Taylor Welch. Welch remained composed once in the circle before using a move to create space and then drilling her shot into the lower left corner.
 
Drew played well in the early parts of the second half, getting within two at 46:31 thanks to a deflection off the stick of freshman Madi Sheetz.
 
The Rangers continued to press, with Stukenborg keeping the lead at two with a plethora of kick saves and some help from freshman back Cassidy O'Hearn who notched the first defensive save of her young career.
 
Stevens' finally tally of the day came from Welch on a rebound. The sophomore fed Brook into the circle and after Brook's shot was saved, Welch was there to stick in the rebound.
 
Stukenborg had a third-straight double-digit-save game with 14 denials, as the Ducks ended with a 27-22 margin in shots and a 13-11 edge in penalty corners.
 
After dropping its first two matches of the season at No. 11 TCNJ and at No. 12 Messiah, the Ducks have now scored nine goals in a pair of wins to even their record at 2-2. Drew is now 0-4 on the season.


NAZARETH 2, Wells 1
Sophomore Maggie Namy scored twice in Wednesday's non-conference field hockey game to lead Nazareth to a 2-1 victory over visiting Wells. Namy scored in the opening five minutes of the game to provide the Golden Flyers with an early lead, then she scored in the closing minutes to break the 1-1 tie.

In the final five minutes of regulation, the Golden Flyers increased their pressure to force Wells into turnovers. Sophomore Kristina Back and junior Catherine Willard each had a shot stopped by the Express's Sydney Line before Namy scored the game-winning goal. Namy's scoring opportunity was set up by freshman Kelsi Barnholt, who dribbled down the right wing toward the goal line then sent a cross in front of the Wells net. Namy connected on a shot from the left post to reclaim Nazareth's lead. Barnholt was credited with an assist on the goal.

The Golden Flyers' defense needed to defend a pair of penalty corners at the end of the regulation to secure the victory. The first penalty corner was awarded to Wells just before the buzzer sounded. Nazareth's defense prevented any shots, but the Express earned an additional corner on the series. On the ensuing corner, an Express player initially misplayed the ball to allow the Golden Flyers' defense time to pressure the ball. The ball was played from the top of the arc but was blocked off a Wells player to end the game.

Namy scored her first goal of the game 4:14 into the contest after receiving a pass from senior Sibongile Chisi. Namy's goals Wednesday evening were the first of her career at Nazareth. The Golden Flyers' defense held Wells scoreless in the opening 45 minutes, and they allowed the Express only one shot in the first half. Just over 10 minutes into the second half, Kate Wells put Wells on the board on a transition opportunity. Nazareth senior Shannon Winney stopped the initial shot, however, Wells found her own rebound and converted the scoring chance.

Winney finished with four saves to earn the victory, including three in the second half. Line had 11 saves in goal for the Express in the loss. The Golden Flyers finished with a 19-7 advantage in total shots, including a 10-1 advantage in the opening 35 minutes. Nazareth also had an edge in penalty corners, 5-3.


Cortland 3, ITHACA 1
The Ithaca College field hockey team (1-3) dropped a close game to Cortland Wednesday evening, falling to the Red Dragons by a score of 3-1 at the Cortland Stadium Complex.
 
Junior Caitlin O'Brien scored the lone goal for the Bombers, while sophomore goalkeeper Katie Lass made six saves on nine Red Dragon shots.
 
Ithaca scored the first goal of the contest, as O'Brien netted her first of the season at 5:12 of the opening frame. O'Brien's shot from outside the circle deflected and trickled through the Cortland keeper, marking her first goal since Ithaca's 8-0 win over Wells in last season's opener (8/30/13). Lass stopped all three shots she faced in the first, giving Ithaca a 1-0 lead at the half.
 
Cortland finally broke through the Bomber defense with a goal in the 59th minute, tying the contest at 1-1. With just 2:27 left to play in the second half, Cortland scored again on a re-direction to put the Red Dragons ahead, 2-1. With the Ithaca offense pressing, Cortland added an insurance goal with under a minute to play. The Bombers were unable to score again, giving Cortland the 3-1 win.