LEXINGTON, Va. – The #15 Shenandoah University field hockey team picked up a gritty, hard-fought, conference-opening win over Washington and Lee Wednesday night on the road. The Hornets got a goal from
Mairead McKibbin, but 60 minutes was not enough to decide a winner. The 20-minute extra time, golden goal period, was also not enough time to decide a winner, as this game came down to a penalty shootout. The Hornets got the extra team goal after winning the shootout 2-1. The Generals had more shots than the Hornets, as they had the edge of 25-12, with seven Generals' shots on target, while the Hornets had six goals on cage. The Generals also had the edge in penalty corners 11-5, while
Taylor Swann started in goal and had a game-high five saves.
Farren Winter and
Claudia Lenahan each had three shots, while
Mairead McKibbin fired two shots and had the only goal for the Hornets. This was the first win for the Hornets in Lexington, almost 10 years ago, when Shenandoah also won 2-1 in October of 2014.
HOW IT HAPPENED
As the game started, both teams battled in the midfield as each offense tried to gain the advantage. The Generals had the first opportunity as Sydney Baggett fired a shot that
Taylor Swann batted away. Baggett got the ball back and had a clear shot at the cage, but
Mallory Holup was there to make the defensive save and keep the game scoreless in the 8
th minute. The only shot the Hornets managed was from
Elizabeth Ranberger, but it was off target and first quarter ended 0-0.
Washington and Lee earned a corner to start the second quarter, but Zoe Dolfis' shot sailed wide. The Generals quickly earned another corner, which led to two shots that were blocked, and never made the way to Swann. Going the other way, the Hornets finally got their first corner of the game. Off the first corner,
Madison Short fired a shot that was saved. The ball bounced to Lenahan, and her shot was also saved. On the counter, the Generals broke out, heading toward the Shenandoah back line, but again Swann made the save. The Hornets went on the power play but could not get any shots off on the man advantage.
The Hornets took a 1-0 lead in the third off of a penalty corner.
Madison Short passed the ball to the top of the circle, where
Camryn DeLeva faked the shot and passed to
Claudia Lenahan. Lenahan blasted a shot past the keeper, but the Generals' defender was on the back line to make the defensive save. However, in the attempt to clear the ball, she passed it right to McKibbin, who fired the shot past a diving keeper. After the face off, the Generals earned another corner, but that shot got blocked. Both teams traded shots before the Hornets went on another power play, but again they could not take advantage of the extra man opportunity.
In the fourth, the Generals earned a corner 18 seconds in the quarter and fired two shots, one blocked and one wide. W&L got on the board and tied the game after Jenna Bernstein fired a shot that Margaret Cover tipped past Swann. The Hornets prevented the Generals from any more shots in regulation, while Shenandoah earned a corner and got shots from DeLeva and Winter, but the clock hit zeros, and the game was heading to overtime.
A winner could not be decided after both overtime periods and the game headed to a penalty shootout. W&L started and missed their first shot.
Farren Winter went first for the Hornets and her shot missed as well. W&L missed their next three attempts before finally scoring on their fifth player. McKibbin scored on her attempt putting the Hornets up 1-0. Swann stopped the Generals' final attempt, and DeLeva sealed the game for the Hornets as her shot beat the keeper.
UP NEXT
The Hornets return home as they will continue conference play on Saturday when Roanoke comes to town for a noon start.
#GoSUHornets
