By Chrissy Segrest
Elm Staff Writer
On Wednesday, Sept. 27, the Washington College field hockey team traveled to Gwynedd Valley, Penn. to take on the Gwnyedd Mercy Griffins. The Shorewomen lost 4-1 in the non-conference game with the single goal coming from junior Alison Pantazes. They later dominated at McDaniel, winning 7-1.
The first half was played with high intensity from both teams. Gwynedd Mercy scored first, lighting up the board with 24 minutes to go in the first half. The Shorewomen retaliated almost immediately, scoring just one minute later. The unassisted goal came from Alison Pantazes with a shot from the middle of the circle.
The remainder of the half was laborious, with the next goal being scored by Gwynedd Mercy at 30:48. The ball was sent across the circle and deflected by the Griffins, bringing the score to 2-1. The Griffins managed another goal in the last minute of the first half, off a penalty corner.
Going into halftime the score was 3-1, but the Shorewomen were firm in their defense. The final goal of the game was scored at 42:57 from the Griffins. WC’s defensive corner unit suffered 11 penalty corners throughout the game.
Junior goalkeeper Morgan Domanico stood her ground and directed the defense under this pressure. She had eight saves, six coming from the second half. Knowing her team was down, Domanico “believed in her teammates and herself,” she said.
“In any game, the main objective is just to trust your training. Coming from a goalkeeper’s perspective — in the heat of the moment — it’s important not to overthink,” Domanico said. “Goalies have to have amnesia; mentally it’s always a 0-0 game, and at the end of the day you’re just there to keep the ball out of the cage.”
With a tough loss behind them, the Shorewomen moved on to rally against McDaniel, beating the Green Terror 7-1 on Friday, Sept. 29 in Westminster. This conference win improved WC to a total record of 5-5. They now stand as the No. 5 seed in Centennial Conference rankings, improving from No. 7 just days before.
With the tough loss behind them, the Shorewomen came with the broom to sweep the conference match against the Green Terror. Freshman Grace Steele put the Shorewomen on the board first with a goal only five minutes into the game. She scored off a rebound from the McDaniel goalkeeper in a messy scramble at the stroke mark. Three minutes later, junior Emily Pantazes made her own goal in a deceiving corner play. Freshman Kailyn Brandt received the insert from Emily Pantazes, drew the defense, then sent it back to Emily Pantazes for the shot.
Twenty-seven minutes into the game, Brandt made an impressive goal for the Shorewomen to solidify a 3-0 lead. Brandt scored in a solo breakaway, pulling around the goalie and succeeding in a strong reverse shot into the net.
McDaniel made it to the scoreboard when they earned a stroke in 33:25.The Shorewomen came back in the second half to score four more goals.
In the first minute of the second half, junior Clare Ingersoll tipped in a pass from junior Olivia Auer. Auer came back just two minutes later with her own goal coming from the top of the circle. The sixth of the Shorewomen’s goals came from a passing pattern between seniors Sami Bialozinski and Michaela Conners. Bialozinski earned the assist while Conners scored her first goal of the season.
The finale of the game came when senior Liza Slavin scored her first collegiate goal in the 47th minute.
WC field hockey’s next game is at Dickinson in Carlisle, Penn. on Oct. 7 at 11 a. m.