By Jack Poleto
Sports Editor
On Sept. 28, women’s field hockey faced off against the McDaniel Green Terror.
The Shorewomen began by scoring in the second minute with a shot from sophomore forward Kat Esposito.
The Green Terror had their first shot from a penalty corner during the eighth minute, but junior goalkeeper Ava Rivera made a save. As the first period went on, the Shorewomen kept the pressure on with Esposito taking a shot on goal that was saved by McDaniel in the 12 minute. Immediately following the block, she took another shot that resulted in Esposito’s second goal of the game.
To score before the first period ended, McDaniel took a second shot which Rivera blocked yet again, making the score 2-0 with the Shorewomen in the lead.
The second period started slow, but in the 22 minute, the Green Terror had a barrage of shots on goal from various penalties, all of which were blocked or saved by the Shorewomen. McDaniel took one last shot on goal in the 26 minute that got blocked by Rivera again. The second period came to a close with no change in score.
In the 31 minute of the game, the Shorewomen took another shot from freshman forward Jam Hutt-Robles that the Green Terror blocked.
During the eighth minute of the third period, Esposito recorded a third goal for the day from ten yards out, giving the Shorewomen their first hat-trick of the season.
In a further display of dominance, the Shorewomen took a penalty corner which they would capitalize upon and score. The fourth goal came from freshman midfielder Cecilia Long in the 44 minute.
At the start of the fourth period, freshman goalkeeper Catherine Parker came in for Rivera. One minute in, senior midfielder Anna Harrington took a shot on goal that the Green Terror blocked.
During the 48 minute, Esposito took a backhand shot on goal resulting in her fourth of the game that came following a penalty corner from Hutt-Robles. The Green Terror’s only goal of the game came in the tenth minute of the fourth period.
The final score of their game against McDaniel was 5-1 with the Shorewomen leading in the blowout.
Throughout the game, the Shorewomen out-shot McDaniel 8-7, five of which came from Esposito. They had a total of four saves throughout the game where Rivera recorded three of them.
In their second game of the week, the Shorewomen faced the Ursinus Grizzly Bears on Oct. 1.
The Bears scored in the first five minutes of the first period following a penalty corner. The Shorewomen went on to take a series of four shots at Ursinus’s goalkeeper for three straight minutes, with two coming from Esposito and two from Harrington.
In the 12 minute, Rivera made her first save of the game, but it was immediately followed by a second shot from the Bears that made it past the Shorewomen, making the score 2-0 with Ursinus in the lead.
Throughout the second period, Rivera recorded two saves, preventing any scores from the Bears. The Shorewomen’s only shot on goal came from Alexis Tackney, but it was saved by Ursinus’s goalkeeper, keeping the score of the game at 2-0.
In the third minute of the third period, the Bears took another shot on goal that Rivera blocked immediately followed by a second shot that went in, making the score 3-0.
36 minutes in, the Shorewomen substituted Parker at goalkeeper. She later posted her first save of the game in the 43 minute of the game.
As the fourth period began, the Shorewomen tried to mount a comeback with three shots on goal in five minutes, the third of which was a score from Harrington six yards from the goal.
Later, in the 57 minute, the Harrington took another shot on goal that was blocked by the Bears’ goalkeeper. Two minutes later, freshman midfielder Kendal Thomson rifled off a shot in front of the goal after an assist from Harrington with less than a minute left in the game.
At the end of the fourth period, Ursinus held off the Shorewomen after their strong attempt to force overtime with a final score of 2-3. The team was led by Harrington’s four shots and Esposito’s three, as well as Rivera recording five goals.
The Shorewomen now look to their next game on Oct. 6 at Bryn Mawr College. Washington College lead the series all-time 23-3 with the Owls winning the last two.
Photo by Grace Hazlehurst
Photo Caption: Shorewomen celebrate after junior forward Kat Esposito scores in their game.