Photo: Megan White
Elizabethtown College’s field hockey team earned back to back wins in their first games of the regular season this weekend. Friday, Aug. 31, they won on the road against Frostburg State University, then in the Jays’ home opener against Dickinson College, Saturday, Sept. 1.
Etown came out strong with an early shot by sophomore Brooke Zehr five minutes in, but it was saved by Frostburg goalie, junior Sierra Smizer. Smizer made another save 10 minutes later on junior Lauren Scheib’s shot.
The Jays kept shooting and Scheib finally got one past Smizer off a penalty corner by junior Olivia Beachley with an assist from senior Maggie Fees, putting Etown up 1-0 going into the half.
The Jays had seven penalty corners in the second period, which they again used to their advantage to score on the Bobcats.
This time it was Beachley with the goal and Zehr with the assist, putting Etown up 2-0 and giving the Jays their first win of the season.
In addition to Scheib and Beachley’s goals, Fees and Zehr kept the Jays momentum going with five and three shots, respectively. Senior goalie Margo Donlin had two saves for the Jays.
The Blue Jays came back home to Wolf Field for their second game of the weekend against Dickinson.
Sophomore Emily Garvin took a shot for the Jays two minutes into the game, but it was saved by Dickinson goalie Heather Meeder.
The game stayed tied at zero, but 20 minutes in, Dickinson began to put the pressure on the Jays with three shots in under two minutes. One shot was blocked and two were saved by Donlin.
Despite the Red Devils’ push, the Jays were able to hold them scoreless going into the second period.
Dickinson kept fighting at the start of the second, with two shots in the first three minutes, but Etown was able to turn things around with a goal from first-year Grace Hardy, assisted by junior Madison Kubik. That was enough for the Jays to finish the weekend with a second win, kicking off their season 2-0 overall.
According to Fees, although the team is young this year, the players have been holding each other accountable at practice and everyone has been working hard individually to pull off their back-to-back wins.
“After both of our games this weekend I think that the team has gained a lot of confidence that we were struggling to find during preseason,” Fees said. “Our long term goal for this season is winning the Landmark Conference Championship, but this early in the season we are really focusing on the day to day.”
The Blue Jays will be back on the road again Friday, Sept. 7 against Muhlenberg College at 7 p.m.
