WINCHESTER, Va. – The #15 Shenandoah University field hockey was back in action on Monday afternoon for their final non-conference game of the season as Centre College came to town. The Hornets (10-2, 2-0) got three goals from
Farren Winter, along with a team-leading and conference-leading goal from
Cassidy Morrison, as the Hornets stormed past the Colonels 4-1.
Farren Winter led all players with nine shots, with seven of those shots coming on goal.
Elizabeth Ranberger,
Claudia Lenahan,
Mairead McKibbin, and
Cassidy Morrison all had multiple shots for the Hornets.
Taylor Swann started in goal for the Hornets, and the senior keeper only faced one shot on the day. The Hornets dominated possession, shots, and corners over the visiting Colonels. Shenandoah had the edge in shots 29-1 and had a 15-1 advantage in penalty corners.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams were off to a slow start as the offenses were trying to settle in, but it was the Hornets who had the first chance at goal as
Elizabeth Ranberger's shot just went wide. The Hornets got on the board first in the 8
th minute, after drawing a foul just outside the circle.
Claudia Lenahan took the ball on the left side and headed toward the circle; she sent a ball across the goal mouth that the Centre goal kicked away, but right to the stick of
Cassidy Morrison, who easily slotted the ball past the keeper for a 1-0 lead. With the Hornets looking to add to their lead, Shenandoah earned back-to-back penalty corners, with a shot from Winter getting blocked. Centre drew level after their first penalty corner of the game. The Colonels inserted the ball to the top of the circle as the Centre played give-and-go, a long pass to the far post found the stick of Maggie Will, who shot the ball over a diving
Taylor Swann. The Hornets were determined to get the lead back before the quarter ended as McKibbin,
Kaitlyn Nakamura, Ranberger, and Morrison all fired shots, but were turned away.
In the second quarter, the Hornets did not give up any shots to Centre as the ball barely made it over the midfield. The Hornets had a great look as McKibbin blasted a shot that rang off the post just missing. Shenandoah took the lead as
Elise Velasquez sent a long pass into
Farren Winter, who gathered the ball and fired a shot past a diving goalie. Shenandoah took a 2-1 lead into halftime.
After the break, the Hornets kept the pressure up offensively, as once again, they did not give up a shot to the Colonels or rarely had the ball enter their defensive zone. A barrage of shots and corners finally led to a payoff on a penalty corner.
Madison Short inserted the ball to
Mairead McKibbin, who passed the ball to
Farren Winter. Winter left two Colonels in her dust and then threw a changeup through traffic as the keeper did not have an answer. The Hornets got one more look at a corner, but could not capitalize and Shenandoah took a 3-1 lead into the fourth.
The fourth was another stress-free period for the Hornet defense as Shenandoah did not give up a shot or corner in the fourth, as they did for the previous two quarters. In the fourth, Winter completed the hat trick after a restart deep in the Colonels territory. Winter took the pass, backed into the circle, and fired a behind-the-back shot to beat the keeper to secure the 4-1 win.
Along with the win on Monday, the Hornets' eighth-straight win,
Mairead McKibbin was named ODAC Offensive Player of the Week. McKibbin helped her team go 2-0 to start conference play while picking up two goals. First, in the conference opener against Washington and Lee, McKibbin had the only goal in regulation for the Hornets and also picked up a goal in the penalty shootout to help the Hornets to a 2-1 victory. McKibbin then capped off her week with a goal against Roanoke in a 6-1 victory over the Maroons.
UP NEXT
The Hornets will be back in action and continuing conference play on Wednesday when they travel to Virginia Beach for a battle of two undefeated conference teams. The Hornets and Marlins will square off at 5 pm on Wednesday before Shenandoah will battle Sweet Briar on Saturday.
#GoSUHornets
