After starting the season with a less than ideal record, 3-4, the Elizabethtown College women’s field hockey team turned up the heat Saturday, Sept. 20, for a 6-1 victory against Albright College.
The Jays rebounded from an overtime loss against York College (Pa.) the previous week to deliver a convincing defeat, with five Blue Jays scoring for the Etown offense. Defensively, senior goalkeeper Selene Jones made nine saves during the game.
Junior Jacki Hikes was confident before the game against Albright. “Once we fine-tune all of the little problems we’ve been having, we will be unstoppable, and Saturday will be another victory we can add to our record,” she said. “To win, we obviously need to score goals and stop them from scoring, and we’ve really been focusing on trying to capitalize on goal-scoring opportunities. We will continue to work together as a unit, communicate and make quick, efficient passes up the field.”
The Jays capitalized on goalscoring opportunities, and the team worked cohesively to create these chances. Senior forward Andrea Keady took advantage of her chance which came three minutes into the game from a penalty corner. She scored off an assist from senior midfielder Taylor Alwine, to give the team an early lead and momentum moving forward into the game.
Jones worked early, as Albright (0-7) dished out the next five shots of the game, three of which were on goal.
After 10 minutes of play, the Jays increased the pressure offensively and controlled the game. Senior defender Emily Mason took a penalty corner and connected with Alwine, who found the back of the Albright goal to make the score 2-0.
Etown fired 18 first-half shots, keeping the pressure on offensively. Junior forward Alyssa Aichele was a key player in converting two of those shots into goals before the end of the first half. She scored one from a pass from Keady and later fed a pass to first-year forward Emma Christman, who scored with 13 seconds left in the half.
In the first few minutes of the second half, Jones made two saves for Etown, and Mason provided a standout defensive play to keep Albright from scoring.
With less than 10 minutes left in the game, senior midfielder Lindsey Nester scored off an assist from Hikes for a 5-0 lead. Shortly after, Alwine made her second goal of the game to increase the lead to 6-0 and put the team in position to seal the shutout. However, at 62:59, Albright made their first and only goal to keep the Jays from the shutout victory.
Multiple players helped Etown reach its victory against Albright College. “The whole team is key to being victorious, whether it’s the girls starting out the game, or those who are subbing in, or the girls who cheer from the sidelines,” Hikes said. “Every player contributes in some way, and without everyone’s contribution, we wouldn’t be able to win.”
The team will hit the road tonight to take on Wesley College at 7 p.m. for their last game before Landmark Conference play begins against nationally-ranked Catholic University on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 2 p.m.
