By Pat Delp, Staff writer
While senior midfielder Shannon Kinney lead the high- octane offense, freshman goalie Libby Dex held down the defense for Susquehanna’s rout of conference rival Goucher, 19-3, on Saturday afternoon at home on Sassafras Field.
Kinney led all scorers with five goals, while senior attacker Ashley Rose Lynn and freshman attacker Stephanie Dowling both added three respectively to power the offense to a season-high 19 goals.
On the defensive end, Dex allowed just three goals and had seven saves which earned her the Landmark Conference Women’s Defensive Player of the Week. With the win against Goucher, Dex improved her record in her first year to 6-4 with a .462 save percentage with her 78 saves through 12 games this season.
Lynn got the scoring started a mere 19 seconds into the game off of a free position shot. The scoring would be early and of ten throughout the entire game. River Hawks went on a five goal run with additional goals from Kinney, Lynn again, sophomore attacker Helena Woytovich and junior attacker Caroline Rabiecki.
Goucher would not be heard from until the 19:31 mark in the opening half, but the Gopher goal would only spur a seven-goal River Hawk run which took them into halftime with a command- ing 12-1 lead. Kinney herself had three of the seven, which included a man-down goal, as well as goals from Dowling, senior attacker Liv Cohn and freshman attacker Christine Hoerman.
The second half started off similar to the first with back-to- back goals by Dowling and Lynn. Over the next four minutes, the Gophers managed their final two goals, which were broken up by a Susquehanna goal scored by freshman attacker Gabi Toohey.
Goucher would be held scoreless by the Susquehanna defense for the remainder of the contest. Four more goals were piled on before the game was over by Kinney, Hoerman, Woytovich and Dowling respectively.
“I think this game speaks to the depth and talent of our team,” Kinney said. “Nine different players scored in this past game and that has become a pattern that demonstrates how we truly play for each other and help each other succeed on and off the field.”
Other notable performances included Woytovich who finished with two goals and an assist while Hoerman added two goals as well. Sophomore attacker Brooke Klair led the team in assists on the day with three. Kinney also had a strong day in the face off circle, winning six draw controls.
The River Hawks will next travel to Wilkes Barre for their next two games, first, to face Landmark Conference rival Scranton next Saturday, April 22. The following Wednesday, the will travel back, only this time to face Marywood.
“One of the most important factors that has driven us toward success is the passion and drive that is behind every practice and game,” Kinney said.
