Field Hockey Edged By Johnson & Wales
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Johnson & Wales (12-6, 4-2 GNAC) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|
Elms (5-13, 3-1 NECC) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)
CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College field hockey team hung tough with visiting Johnson & Wales during a 2-1 loss in a non-conference match at Leary Field Tuesday evening.
In the 11th minute of play, the Blazers stormed through the Wildcats midfield, where senior forward Kayla Narey (South Hadley, Mass.) delivered a long pass toward the net, finding senior forward Emma Morgan (South Kingstown, R.I.), who ripped a shot past Johnson & Wales freshman goalkeeper Shannon Yoder (Boyertown, Pa.) to the right side, giving Elms an early 1-0 advantage.
With 9:20 remaining in the first half, the Wildcats evened the score at 1-1, capitalizing on a 2-on-1 advantage with senior forward Courtney McTague (Saugus, Mass.) delivered a finish to the high right side off a pass from freshman forward Giovanna Ciavardoni (Latham, N.Y.).
The Wildcats broke the tie in the 56th minute as freshman midfielder Ali King (San Diego, Calif.) redirected a shot from the point by junior forward Amanda Takach (Lindenhurst, N.Y.), sending Johnson & Wales to a 2-1 victory.
"I thought we played really well today," said Elms College Head Coach Jennifer Ouelette. "We used the sideline and each other well in this game, along with face guarding the players they had marked during the match. I like what I saw with our face guarding, our drivers were on point, and our passing was crisp today. We showed great awareness on our goal, finding where the ball was, delivering a strong pass and recognizing where the defenders were in the circle. We need to clean up our defensive feet in the circle, along with the number of defensive corners we are giving up. Johnson & Wales is a tough team, and playing well against them show we can beat any team in our conference."
The Wildcats outshot the Blazers, 23-5, during the contest. Elms junior goalkeeper Samantha Alvino (Holtsville, N.Y.) stopped a game-high 12 shots, while Yoder made one save for Johnson & Wales.
The Blazers moved to 5-13 on the season, while Johnson & Wales sits at 12-6 overall. Elms will return to action in their season finale at Bay Path College Saturday afternoon at 11:00 a.m. Today's action wrapped up the regular season for Johnson & Wales.
ELMS FIELD HOCKEY
