EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Avenging their loss to West Chester earlier in the year, the ESU field hockey team took down the No. 5 Golden Rams in their conference home opener on Saturday afternoon, winning 2-1.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game took a while to pick up in action, as both teams settled in during the first 10 minutes. ESU got an early opportunity when West Chester was called for a green card, drawing a penalty corner shortly after. However, after an unfortunate bounce, the Golden Rams started to transition upfield, with a 4-on-1 developing. Sophomore forward
Lisa Pasman made a quick recovery, joining the play to shut down the chance.
ESU would generate the first couple of quality shots on target of the game in the second quarter. The Warriors held an advantage all game in corners, getting two good looks off one in the first five minutes of the frame. A shot by fifth-year midfielder
Elaiana Rivera-Lagalla was stopped by goalkeeper Erin O'Brien, and senior forward
Rylie McGrath's shot off the rebound hit the post. West Chester had its first shot attempt with three minutes remaining after holding possession, but Lily Coombs' attempt went wide.
The Warriors came out of the break strong, getting three looks in the first minute, though all of them were blocked. Right after, West Chester flipped the field and went on the attack. Veerle Hersman had a shot blocked and went wide, and Anna Finn had one that was blocked between those attempts as well. After another corner for the Warriors, the Golden Rams shut that down and started to break out. However, McGrath's pressure created a turnover, setting up a scoring chance from the left side of the field. Drawing O'Brien out of the net, she found freshman forward
Emily Dobrowolski on the far post for a tap-in, putting the Warriors up 1-0.
As the third quarter wound down, West Chester began to apply more pressure, but couldn't find the equalizer. In the final minute, fifth-year back
Bella Viruet intercepted a pass in the Warriors' defensive end and deked past a Golden Rams midfielder to create a rush. After crossing midfield, she passed it up the left side to McGrath, who went down to the goal line at the edge of the circle and worked her way back towards the point. Once she got back to the middle of the field, McGrath fired a backhanded shot past O'Brien's left and inside the right post, doubling ESU's lead.
West Chester battled in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to one, as a corner chance converted to a goal. Senior goalkeeper
Jet Vermeulen stopped the first look with a high blocker save on Anna Finn, but Veerle Hersman batted Allison Patel's pass out of the air and into the net with five and a half minutes remaining. The Warriors held on to possession the rest of the way, forcing West Chester to defend and not letting them get into the attacking zone as time ran out.
UP NEXT
ESU has a quick turnaround with a rescheduled game in two days, taking on Saint Anselm for a non-conference game. The Warriors host the Hawks for their Youth Day game at 1 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, at Whitenight Field.
