WINCHESTER, Va. – The defending ODAC champion Shenandoah University field hockey team begins its defense of the 2016 title tonight in a 7 p.m. ODAC Tournament quarterfinal round game at Bridgewater College.
The Hornets, 9-8 on the season, head to Jopson Field for the second time in four days after BC (7-10) downed SU 1-0 Saturday night.
The one-goal win for the Eagles represented the ninth time in the past 10 meetings that the two teams have played a one-goal game.
The lone outlier in that string was a 3-1 win for Shenandoah at home on October 26, 2016. That victory started a five-game winning streak that cumulated in the Hornets winning the 2016 ODAC Championship.
SU comes into tonight's game fifth in the league in goals per game at 2.3 per contest while BC is scoring just 1.6 goals each time out.
The Hornets are also better defensively, giving up a third-best-in-league 1.79 goals per game with Bridgewater allowing 1.94.
In the goal, SU freshman Isabella Morande is tops in the league with a .798 save percentage and is third in goals against at 1.65 per game.
Senior forward Melissa DeiTos leads the Hornets in scoring with seven goals and three assists for 17 points.
Sophomores Taylor Hayes and Megan Stevens both have 15 points (Hayes on five goals and five assists and Stevens on seven goals and one assist) with junior Morgan Payne chipping in 10 points on three goals and four assists.
Junior Tessa Tierson is the lone BC player to register double figures in points this season – she has 11 goals and three assists for 25 points. Her last assist came on the lone goal in the Eagles 1-0 win over Shenandoah Saturday night.
Sophomore Emily Matisons has nine points and Laura Gretz eight to back up Tierson. Gretz' four goals are second-best to Tierson.
Sophomore Ali Bishop has started 14 of Bridgewater's 17 games and comes into tonight's game with a 2.08 goals against average.
The winner of tonight's game faces top-seeded Washington and Lee Friday on W&L Turf Field in Lexington in the tournament semi-finals.
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