By Pat Mariboe
Senior Sports Writer
The Shorewomen had a big night thanks to transfer sophomore Natalie Theriault who scored the first goal of her Washington College career in the team’s 1-0 victory over visiting Gwynedd Mercy on Wednesday.
Senior Alli Dudley had the first chance of the game, when she stole the ball from midfield and had a one-on-one chance against the Griffin’s goalkeeper, but saw her effort sputter just wide. Theriault notched her goal with 27 minutes to go in the first half when a snipe from senior Elizabeth Davis ricocheted off the goalkeeper’s pads and landed to Theriault, who batted it out of the air to make it 1-0 to the Shorewomen. The Shorewomen ended the first half with a total of seven shots, while the Griffins failed to record a single chance.
In the second half, sophomore Clare Ingersoll almost doubled the score, but a solid stop by the goalkeeper kept the score at 1-0 with nearly 20 minutes to play. The Griffins managed their first shot of the game with three minutes to go, but the shot sailed wide and was no problem for sophomore goalkeeper Morgan Domanico.
Domanico did face late game heroics, when she made a great save off a penalty corner with only seconds remaining, leading the Shorewomen to a 1-0 victory. It was a strong showing for WC’s stonewall defense, as they only allowed two shots and three penalty corners to the Griffins, who entered the game on a four game win streak, scoring 22 combined goals in those contests. After this victory, the Shorewomen currently hold onto a one game win streak after narrowly losing to Muhlenberg in the previous week. They looked to add to that streak when they faced off against Dickinson in a Centennial Conference matchup on Saturday.
The visiting Red Devils started off the scoring early, collecting a goal nearly two minutes into the game. The Shorewomen fought back, looking for the equalizer and had several chances thwarted, until Dudley made her mark, deflecting home a pass from senior Jen Tordella to level the score with four minutes to go in the half. Dudley almost added on another tally a few minutes into the second half, but saw her effort saved. Dickinson would go on to score the decisive goal with less than 15 minutes remaining when a lobbed effort beat Domanico to make the score 2-1. It was an unlucky day for the Shorewomen, as they outshot the Red Devils 14 to 6 and recorded 13 penalty corners opposed to Dickinson’s three. It’s been a similar tale for the Shorewomen this season in Conference play, as all four of their losses have been decided by one goal.
The Shorewomen didn’t suffer a complete loss on Saturday, however, as it was also the team’s “Make a Difference” event. The “Make a Difference Campaign” was launched by the Shorewomen to help benefit the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s (CHOP) Cancer Research Center and to also raise awareness of brain tumors, melanoma, and overall cancer research. Cancer really hits home for the Shorewomen, as junior Liza Slavin spent most of last year battling a brain tumor and has just recently been cleared to play field hockey again.
Thanks to the staff at CHOP, Slavin successfully had her tumor removed last January. Former Shorewoman Jaimie Martell, class of 2009, is also battling melanoma and the team is making sure everyone knows the important impact these two women have had both on and off the field. The team has dedicated the entire month of October for this great cause. You can learn more about the “Make a Difference Campaign” and donate at http://wacfh1782.wixsite.com/makeadifference.