The women’s field hockey team suffered a 3-1 loss to the Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks to snap a four-game winning streak on Wednesday, Sept. 27, at Edith Robb Dixon Field.
As the game began, the Ducks controlled possession in Cavalier territory for most of the first half.
They showed aggressiveness early getting a shot off and forcing Genevieve Paulin to make a one-on-one save within the first five minutes of the game.
Stevens drew first blood in the 15th minute with junior Chelsea Cresci breaking through defenders inside the shooting circle and beating Paulin with a shot.
Just three minutes later, the Lady Cavs answered back with a goal their own. Senior Lindsey Atzert put a shot toward the net and freshman Kerry Anne Farrell was there to redirect it into the back of the net.
“It’s fun,” Farrell said of playing for Cabrini. “It was easy to get into and a smooth transition for me.”
Farrell’s goal tied her with Atzert for the team lead in goals this season with four.
The two teams traded opportunities for the next few minutes. In the 11th minute, a Ducks’ penalty corner forced Paulin to step up and make a great save to keep the game tied.
With less than four minutes remaining in the half, Farrell charged down the field and crossed it to Tiffany Phillips. She moved in on goal with a one-on-one opportunity but the shot went wide right.
In the final seconds, Stevens pressed down field and earned a penalty corner as time in the first half expired. But Paulin was up for the Ducks’ final attempt of the half, making the save to preserve the tie going to halftime.
Paulin was called on to make five saves in the first half. She finished the game with nine.
The Lady Cavs opened the second half with a burst of energy as Atzert stole the ball of the face off. She was on a breakaway with a defender trailing. But her attempted cross was off-line and went out of bounds.
Neither team could find the net with great defensive work soiling any scoring chances for both teams. Finally, in the 50th minute, Jill Fiebel scored on a rebound off a defender to give the Ducks the lead.
Despite several chances for the Lady Cavs to knot the score, the Ducks managed to get some insurance late in the game.
In the 58th minute, a shot by junior Marguerite Chavez forced Paulin to make a diving save. The rebound went right back to Chavez and, with Paulin down, resulted in an easy goal. It was Chavez’ 10th goal of the season.
With 10 minutes left and desperately needing a comeback to keep their winning streak alive, the Lady Cavs called a timeout.
“Try to get the game to a tie,” sophomore Karlie Gruccio said of the timeout. “Even if we tied, we could get to overtime. Seven-on-seven is our specialty.”
After the timeout, the Lady Cavs pressed down field with the long ball played to Farrell. She had beat the defender covering and was moving in on a breakaway.
“We need this,” Farrell said of her thoughts as she broke free, “We need to get points on the board.”
She took a shot on goal but McClymont made the save to preserve the one-goal lead.
McClymont allowed the one lone game to Farrell and made four saves.
The Lady Cavs couldn’t amount any further chances as the final moments ticked away and their winning streak came to an end.
As a result, the Lady Cavs dropped to 4-5 on the season. They remain 2-0 in CSAC play.
The Lady Cavs are back in action Tuesday, Oct. 2nd, at 4 p.m. in a CSAC match against Neumann at Edith Robb Dixon Field, where they look to start a new winning streak.
