In what has been an unlucky season already, what little luck the Tribe had ran out Saturday.
After a 5-3 win over previously undefeated Davison Friday, the Tribe (2-4) fell to previously winless Pennsylvania 1-0 the very next day.
“Field hockey is a funny game sometimes,” Head Coach Peel Hawthorne ’80 said. “You can win the stat sheet, but not the game. We had the possessions, but just couldn’t make the shots.”
Saturday’s game against the Quakers featured a defensive duel in which the Tribe led in penalty corners 7-1 and shots 17-8, but could not find the back of the net.
Sophomore defender Maria Caro led the team with four shots, while senior defender Danielle Scissom had three. Overall, the Tribe was off the mark, as only seven of its 17 shots were on goal.
“We had 17 shots, but they weren’t the types of shots that were going to get past the keeper,” Hawthorne said. “Our shot selection has to be more discriminating.”
The game remained scoreless until the 60th minute, when Penn scored a chaotic goal after Quaker defender Sunny Stirewalt deflected a pass into the cage off a feed into a crowd of players,
Aside from that lone goal allowed, senior goalkeeper Camilla Hill notched six saves.
Sophomore forward Ashley Kyle led the College Friday afternoon against Davidson with the first two goals of her career, both coming in the second half. Kyle also added an assist in the first period in a standout performance for the underclassman.
“This was a breakout game for her,” Hawthorne said. “I saw her making plays out there today that I hadn’t even seen her make in practice.”
Hill also exhibited solid play, recording 10 saves including a swat of a critical penalty stroke in the second half.
After a goal by Davidson in the 18th minute, senior midfielder Elizabeth Loudy answered by scoring on a pass from Kyle. The Wildcats would regain the lead 2-1, but not for long.
Scissom rifled a shot into the back of the cage past a diving keeper, allowing the College to knot the score at 2-2 just before halftime.
This momentum carried through the break. Two minutes into the second period, Kyle deflected a shot from senior midfielder Erica Eng past the Davidson keeper. With its first lead of the game, the College kept applying pressure in the Wildcat part of the field.
A pair of goals by Kyle and Caro in the 41st and 44th minutes gave the Tribe a 5-2 lead, which would be enough to put the game away.
Nevertheless, Hawthorne believed the match could have been much closer.
“We were lucky Davidson didn’t convert some opportunities,” Hawthorne said. “There were some defensive mistakes that they failed to capitalize on.”
