By Dominic Rapposelli
Business and Distribution Manager
Washington College Field Hockey traveled to McDaniel College on Wednesday, Sept. 27 for a Centennial Conference matchup against a 2-6 Green Terror team.
The Green Terror struck first with a first quarter goal off a penalty stroke. They carried this lead into the fourth quarter.
Sophomores Brynn Balliet and MaryCate Anson teamed up for the equalizer in the fourth period. Anson sent a pass to Balliet who found the back of the net, forcing overtime.
After two periods of overtime, the game went to penalty shootouts where first year Natalie Watkinson scored the lone goal for the Shorewomen. After drawing the McDaniel goalie wide of the net, she scored to beat the home team.
Following the goal, freshman Charlotte Schurman left the cage to secure the contest winning block.
“It felt truly satisfying to have the game win in block. I thought about how hard my team was working and how badly we wanted to win,” Schurman said. “It felt pretty good to end the shootout that way.”
Supporting Schurman in goal is a sound Shorewomen defensive unit. The team held McDaniel to just six shots on the evening while the offense sent away 22 of their own.
Sophomore defender Jam Hutt-Robles adds that the defense is able to keep their composure in order to hold other offenses in check.
“We keep up the intensity by staying calm and communicating with each other as a whole defensive unit. This allows us to support our goalie and keep our composure in very tough and intense situations,” Hutt-Robles said.
The Shorewomen also attempted a season high 18 penalty corners while only giving seven corner attempts to the Green Terror. WC extended their win streak over McDaniel to seven straight and emerging victorious in nine of the last 10 matchups between the squads.
The team will enjoy a week off before returning to action. With the break, the team is able to recover and prepare for a slate of conference play to end the season.
“A week off will definitely give us time to recover. It will also give us time to really focus on what we need to improve on before our next conference game.” Schurman said
The team also uses their time off in order to work on team bonding. The team had the ability to travel to the University of Delaware to watch Division I field hockey over their break.
Looking ahead, the team faces eight conference opponents to end their season including a trio of ranked opponents.
“All of our conference games are a challenge, but one I’m looking forward to is Johns Hopkins. They are by far the most challenging, and I’m looking forward to taking them on as a first year,” Schurman said.
The team currently sits at 5-4 on the season and 1-1 in Centennial Conference play. They will return to Chestertown for back-to-back home contests against the Haverford College Black Squirrels on Wednesday, Oct. 4, and the fifteenth ranked Ursinus College Bears on Saturday, Oct. 7.
Photo courtesy of WC Athletics
Photo Caption: Senior forward Alexis Tackney pushes the ball forward against Franklin and Marshall.