MANSFIELD, Pa. — The No. 2-ranked ESU field hockey team finished its two-game road trip to open conference play with a 4-0 shutout over Mansfield, improving to 8-1.
HOW IT HAPPENED
ESU got on the board early the same way they scored their game-winning goal at Shippensburg: off a penalty corner. Junior defender
Megan Rafter swept in the insert to junior back
Alex Bandura at the top of the circle to start the play. Bandura took one touch towards the cage and fired it past Mansfield's goalkeeper Kiley Moister, giving ESU the lead just under five minutes into the game.
After a quiet second quarter, ESU put the game out of reach with a two-goal third period. Senior forward
Rylie McGrath started the outburst by driving down the left side of the field, taking it all the way from near midfield to inside the circle. Once she got in scoring position, she sent a shot over Moister's head and just under the crossbar for the second goal of the game.
Piling it on, ESU kept the pressure up and found the back of the net six minutes later. Senior forward
Reagan Kunkle settled a rebound off a point shot at the net front, taking a touch and passing it off to the post where junior forward
Maddie Moline was open for the tap-in goal. The Warriors' final goal of the game came early in the fourth quarter, as freshman
Emily Dobrowolski got her first goal in four games and fifth of the season off an assist from fifth-year back
Bella Viruet.
UP NEXT
ESU hosts West Chester this weekend for its first home conference game of the season, a rematch from its final non-conference game two weeks ago. The game is set to start at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10, at Whitenight Field.
