The Elizabethtown College women’s field hockey team shut out the University of Scranton 2-0 on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Wolf Field. Junior Alyssa Aichele and seniors Kaylee Werner and Selene Jones proved to be three vital players that contributed to the win. The win locked in a second-place Landmark Conference finish for the team’s debut in the new conference.
“We have yet to hit our peak performance, and now is the time I think we will peak,” Werner said. “There is so much energy amongst everyone, and we all have the same goal, which is to win a championship. Blue Jays are known for their fight, and we plan to live up to that reputation.”
The first shot of the game occurred at 11:56 from sophomore Addie Stand off a penalty corner from senior Emily Mason.
Scranton’s offense includes the Royals’ top attacker Alyssa Fanita, who is the league’s leader in several offensive areas. She tried to strike early, but Jones was able to stop her shot on goal.
The Blue Jays only managed to get five goals during the game, four of which occurred in the first half. Five shots were more than enough, as the Blue Jays made the shots count.
Senior Kendra Hudson placed the ball in the Royals’ territory, and the ball was deflected. The ball made its way to Werner’s stick, and she put the ball in the back of the cage at 16:37. Werner’s third goal of the season put the Blue Jays up 1-0.
Aichele had an initial shot on goal, but it was deflected. She came back just six minutes later to score her seventh goal of the season. She was able to gain control of the ball again and send it past the goalkeeper to double Etown’s score.
With a big offensive threat from Scranton, the Blue Jays’ defense was on high alert. Staying focused, the defensive efforts held off the opponent’s pressure. The Blue Jays were able to handle five penalty corners during the second half and did not let a hole form in their defense.
Jones made back-to-back sprawling saves to keep the shutout possible for the Blue Jays. Jones had five key saves for Etown, while Mason and senior Marissa Sneeringer were there to back her up, taking control of the deflections from the saves.
For the final 12 minutes, the Blue Jays did not let the Royals have a single shot, which sealed the shutout victory.
As the second seed, the Blue Jays hosted third-seeded Juniata College last night in the Landmark Conference semifinals.
Juniata struck first to take a 1-0 lead on a goal by Allison Groft in the 21st minute. The goal would be the only one scored in the first half as Juniata held a 1-0 advantage at halftime.
The Blue Jays fought back to tie the semifinal contest at one in the 53rd minute on a goal by Werner. It was her fourth of the season.
Werner’s goal would be the final goal scored in regulation, as the game went into overtime.
In the first overtime, neither team could find the back of the cage, as the game remained tied at one.
In the second overtime, Juniata broke the tie in the 96th minute, giving the visitors the win. Jones made six saves on the afternoon in 96 minutes of action.
The loss ended the Blue Jays’ season and sent Juniata on to the Landmark Conference Championship game on Saturday.
Etown finished the season with an 11-7 overall record and a 5-2 Landmark Conference record. The Blue Jays played well enough to earn the second seed for the playoffs in their first season in the conference.
Over the course of the season, the Blue Jays played three ranked opponents, beating 10th-ranked Ursinus College 2-1 back on Sept. 13.
The team’s only conference losses came against 14th-ranked Catholic University, 3-1 and Drew University, 3-1.
Juniata and Catholic will play on Saturday for the Landmark Championship.
