WINCHESTER, Va. – The Shenandoah field hockey team won a hard-fought, tough battle with conference foe Washington & Lee, in a conference matchup, with each team bringing a 2-1 conference record into the game. The Hornets (10-2, 3-1) got the better of the Generals (5-6, 2-2) 2-1, on a late, short-handed goal in the 4
th quarter.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Washington & Lee out shot Shenandoah in the game 7-5, but both teams got four shots on goal.
Taylor Swann got the start in goal for the Hornets and made three saves in the contest.
Shenandoah had the edge on penalty corners with four and could capitalize on both of their goals off those corners.
Gracie Wilkerson scored her team-leading ninth goal of the season on an assist from
Madison Short.
Short would then score the game-winning goal with just over 1:20 left. The goal was her second of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams struggled to get any offensive scoring chances in the first half. W&L took advantage of a turnover in the midfield and used their speed to earn a breakaway, but
Taylor Swann made a beautiful stacked pad save to keep the score level at zero. In the second, the Hornets had back-to-back good scoring opportunities when
Gracie Wilkerson shot was saved, and then
Mairead McKibbin's shot was blocked as we were scoreless heading to the break.
In the third, the Hornets would strike first on a penalty corner.
Madison Short would take the corner and send it to the top of the circle where
Gracie Wilkerson blasted a shot past the General goalkeeper for her ninth goal of the season.
Taking a 1-0 lead into the fourth period, the Hornets would look for an insurance goal or to at least hold on for the victory. Unfortunately, they would have to play a majority of the fourth a player down. First,
Farren Winter was issued a five-minute yellow card, and the Generals capitalized on the power play to level the score at 1 apiece. Then with just over three minutes left in the game,
Kaitlyn Nakamura would be issued a yellow card. This time, it was the Hornets scoring another goal off of a corner, and short-handed. It started with
Madison Short serving the ball to the top of the circle,
Mallory Holup eventually ended up the ball and fired a shot, and Short would be there to tip the ball in for her second goal of the season.
UP NEXT
The Hornets will hit the road on Saturday for a conference matchup with Ferrum. That game with the Panthers will start at 1 p.m.
#GoSUHornets
