Elizabethtown College’s field hockey team picked up a pair of wins this week at home Wednesday, Sept. 6 against Frostburg State University and Saturday, Sept. 9 against Muhlenberg College.
Despite the rainy conditions, the Blue Jays came out strong in the first half, keeping the ball on the Bobcats’ side for the first seven minutes of the game. Etown took three shots in two minutes, two of which were saved by Frostburg goalie Nicole Leighty.
Etown kept shooting and Frostburg managed to block the shots until the 26th minute. Three successive shots, one from sophomore Olivia Beachley and two from graduate student Addie Stang, were blocked. Finally, senior Emma Christman got the ball in the back of the net, scoring her second goal of the season and making the score 1-0 Etown.
Minutes into the second half, sophomore Madison Kubik had the ball and passed it to a wide-open Christman who immediately scored, putting the Jays up two points over the Bobcats.
The game remained scoreless for the rest of the half. Frostburg had the chance to score on Etown late in the game, but a save from Etown goalie, junior Margo Donlin, kept Etown up two.
Donlin had three saves during the game, completing her second straight shutout. In addition to Christman’s two goals, Kubik had three shots and one assist, graduate student Charity Good had two shots and one assist and senior Megan Eppley had two shots.
“We’re all ready to defend our Landmark Champion title, so we train hard and work together as a team,” Christman said. “Our success is attributed to our communication, trust in each other’s abilities, and will to win.”
The Jays’ second game of the week was a nail-biter against nationally-ranked Muhlenberg (#16). Fast-paced from the beginning, the game remained scoreless for 22 minutes until Frostburg’s Stephi Rydgren managed to get the ball past Donlin, putting Muhlenberg up 1-0. With less than one minute left in the half, Kubik tied the game at one with her first goal of the season.
The score remained tied for the next 25 minutes until a slap pass from Christman found Beachley’s stick. Positioned at left post, Beachley tapped the ball into the goal, putting the Jays up 2-1 with 11 minutes remaining. Etown’s defense took care of the rest. The clock ran down and the Blue Jays took the game 2-1, upsetting Muhlenberg and earning their third straight win of the season. Both teams had six shots, four on goal. Chrsitman had three shots and one assist and Patterson finished with one assist.
Etown will take on Washington and Lee University on the road Saturday, Sept. 16 at 2 p.m.
