WINCHESTER, Va. – The no. 16
th ranked Shenandoah Hornets defeated the Washington and Lee Generals in the ODAC Semifinals game Thursday evening. The Hornets (16-2, 8-1) got goals from
Kaitlyn Nakamura and
Camryn DeLeva in the third quarter, just over two minutes from each other to secure the 2-0 win over the Generals (11-7, 7-2.)
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Shenandoah dominated possession out shooting the Generals 15-3 and 7-3 with shots on goal. The Hornets also had the edge on penalty corners 8-3 with both of the Hornets' goals coming off penalty corner opportunities.
Taylor Swann only faced three shots in the contest and saved all three with relative ease.
Mairead McKibbin led the Hornets with four shots in the contest, all of them were on goal.
Farren Winter and
Camryn DeLeva each fired three shots with DeLeva finding the back of the cage.
Kaitlyn Nakamura scored the first goal of the game, for her second tally of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Although it took until the second half for either team to score a goal, just as it was the first time these two teams met just over three weeks ago, the Hornets dominated possession and set the tone early. The Hornet offense was on a mission to have a statement game in the rivalry with the Generals.
Mairead McKibbin had two good scoring opportunities early in the first quarter, but the Generals' netminder saved both back-to-back shots from the junior. Off of the first corner the Hornets earned,
Farren Winter would fire a shot towards the goal that Abby Long would kick away to keep the game scoreless. As the first quarter was winding down, the Generals started to apply pressure on the Hornet backline, Zoe Dolfis would get one of the W&L's three shots, but
Taylor Swann saved it with ease.
W&L would get the first shot in the 2
nd quarter in the 20
th minute, but again
Taylor Swann was up for the challenge and came up with a huge save. That would be the last shot and the best opportunity the Generals would get for the remainder of the game. The Hornets did not manage any shots in the second quarter, and both teams would head to the break with the score tied at zero.
After the break, the Hornets would come out on fire looking to break open this game and get on the board. McKibbin would fire two more shots on goal, but those were both saved. However, on the second shot, the Hornets would earn a penalty corner.
Madison Short would play the ball to the top of the circle, where
Farren Winter was waiting for the pass, Winter would blast a shot, and
Kaitlyn Nakamura, who was able to slip past the defense, was waiting to help escort the ball into the back of the cage, for her second goal of the season and to give Shenandoah a 1-0 lead. Just over two minutes later the Hornets found themselves with another penalty corner. This time it would be
Elizabeth Ranberger who would start the corner. Ranberger would find first-year,
Camryn DeLeva, who fired a shot from the top of the circle to the right corner of the cage past the outstretched pad of Julia McDonald.
The backline of
Elise Velasquez,
Camryn DeLeva,
Madison Short, and
Mallory Holup were phenomenal as they had an answer for every possible W&L attack. The defense only gave up three total shots in the game and the Generals' offense did not have an answer on how to score.
UP NEXT
The Hornets will head back to the ODAC Championship game for the first time since the 2016 season. The last time Shenandoah was in the championship game, the Hornets defeated Washington & Lee by the same 2-0 score to head to the NCAA Tournament. This year, the Hornets will travel to the University of Lynchburg for what should be a fantastic rematch of an overtime game at Shenandoah back on September 30
th.
#GoSUHornets
