By Jordan Fairchild
Elm Staff Writer
On Friday, April 16, the Washington College field hockey team competed in an away game against the Salisbury University Seagulls. The Shorewomen were beat by the Seagulls, 3–0.
Salisbury allowed fans at the game while enforcing all COVID-19 safety procedures, which involve social distancing, wearing masks, and providing hand sanitizer at the game.
“Salisbury is a nationally ranked team, so we knew going into the game, it would be tough because they are a solid team,” senior Grace Steele said. “Something we haven’t encountered yet was having fans, which changes the environment of the game and became a challenge for us towards the end of the game. We learned a lot from this game.”
During the first period of the game, the Shorewomen took one shot, which was saved by the Seagull goalkeeper. The Seagulls took four shots, the last of which scored with less than ten seconds left in the period.
During the second period of the game, the Shorewomen took three shots, while the Seagulls took two, but neither team was able to score. Senior goalkeeper for the Shorewomen Kayla Zapic would come away with one save during the second period.
The Seagulls scored twice more in the third period and neither team scored in the fourth period, finalizing the score at 3–0, Seagulls.
“What was most challenging about this weekend was coming off of a huge win against Franklin and Marshall [College] and then coming back together to play an extremely talented team,” freshman Gab Crysler said. “Being able to keep our composure and focus on not only big picture hockey, but our core team goals was something we worked on and improved upon each quarter.”
The Shorewomen took five shots compared to the Seagulls’ eleven shots during the duration of the game. Senior Kailyn Brandt took three of those five shots.
Zapic would end the game with three saves and freshman goalkeeper Ava Rivera would end the game with two saves.
“Every game we continue to grow and play as a dominant unit, not just players on a field,” Crysler said. “We continue to work hard day in and out day and seeing the results of this in a positive way pushes us to keep persevering and giving it our all every time we step on the field.”
“Our goals for the rest of our spring season is to keep working hard through these last few practices and games and focus on getting ready for next fall when we will be in season and playing more games, which will hopefully be more normal than this spring has been,” sophomore Tatum Schatt said.
The final game of this exhibition season for the Shorewomen will be Saturday, April 24 away at Frostburg State University, a Division II team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
“Losing our fall season was incredibly tough. Being a senior, I am grateful to have the opportunity to play any games. I have met some of my best friends on this team and the opportunity to play with them is something I will cherish forever,” Steele said.