W&J advances to E8 championship with 3-0 win over Houghton
WASHINGTON, Pa. --
Rachel Buyan (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison) scored a pair of goals and
Karlie Baran (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Liberty) recorded her eighth shutout of the season to advance Washington & Jefferson to the 2017 Empire 8 Field Hockey Championship Game.
The top seed and host Presidents improve to 12-4 on the season and will take on either second-seeded St. John Fisher or third-seeded Utica at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, at Cameron Stadium.
In the 23rd minute,
Reghan Dunn (Earleville, Md./Bohemian Manor) dribbled up the right sideline and found Buyan cutting through the middle of the field. Dunn passed to Buyan who took one touch inside the circle and fired her shot to put the Presidents on the board.
W&J was awarded a penalty corner opportunity in the 41st minute and Buyan stepped up to take it. She sent a pass to the top of the circle where
Claire Shaak (Myerstown, Pa./Eastern Lebanon County) controlled the ball and passed back to Buyan who one-timed a shot inside the left post and past the lunging keeper for the 2-0 lead.
The Presidents added their third and final goal of the game in the 68th minute when Buyan stole the ball from a defender and found
Michelle Yamamori (San Dimas, Calif./Bonita) on a long through ball in the center of the circle. Yamamori tapped the ball past the goalie for her third goal of the season.
Buyan's two goals came on three shots, two on target, as she now has 11 goals this season while today marked her fourth game of the year with at least three points. Yamamori's goal came on her only shot of the game.
Alana Boyd (Alexandria, Va./Thomas Edison) led the Presidents with five shots in the contest and put four of those attempts on goal.
Ashley Overton (Fredericksburg, Va./Colonial Forge) was the third W&J player to record a multi-shot effort, finishing with two shots and one on goal.
Baran notched four saves in recording the 16th shutout of her career to get the Presidents to their second consecutive E8 Championship Game appearance.
W&J outshot Houghton by a 16-6 margin, including 11-0 in the first half.
Highlights:
Buyan's first goal of the game gives the Presidents a 1-0 lead midway through the first half
Shaak finds Buyan on a well-executed penalty corner play to give W&J a 2-0 lead
One of Baran's four saves came on this one-on-one chance for Houghton
Yamamori seals the win with her third goal of the season in the 68th minute