Photos Courtesy of Susquehanna Athletics
By Hayden Lange
Susquehanna field hockey’s return to Sassafras Field saturday night ended in a 2-0 loss to Alvernia.
Alvernia (1-1) found the net early, scoring the first goal of the game two minutes and 36 seconds into the game. Meanwhile, Susquehanna (1-2) had several scoring chances but couldn’t get it past Alvernia goalkeeper Jazmin Mayfield, who recorded seven saves on the day.
The next score did not happen until the third quarter, where Alessandra Stevens scored for Alvernia to up the lead to 2-0 at 36:21 mark. In the fourth quarter the River Hawks would continue to pressure the Alvernia defense, putting up eight shots and eight penalty corners, but still couldn’t put one past Mayfield and into the net.
Susquehanna finished the game with eleven shots, eight of them being in goal. The River Hawks also held a 12-4 advantage in penalty corners during the match.
“There was a lot of aggression on offense today which I liked. Although we didn’t score today, the number of shots we put up was great to see,” said Head coach Allison Fordyce.
Senior Forward Taylor Rothermel led Susquehanna with five shots ,four of them being on goal. Junior Forward Kiara Koeller had two shots with one of them being on goal.
Despite the loss, Senior Goalkeeper Taytum Lombardi recordedfour saves playing in the first 45 minutes of the game.
Defense was strong for the River Hawks as they held Alvernia without any shots in the second and fourth quarters. The defense only let up nine total shots the entire game.
“It was a tough loss, but I’m really proud of how the defense played today. I really think that can be a strong point for us this season,” Fordyce said.
With the loss, Susquehanna falls to 1-2 early in the season. Their next game will be on Wednesday, September 9 at 4 pm where they will be on the road against Dickinson.