Field hockey falls to sixth place after loss to F&M
Junior goalkeeper Haley Mowery made eight saves during her 70 minutes on the field.
Photo Credit: David Sinclair, GC C&M
By Elizabeth Hilfrank, Sports Editor
The Gettysburg College field hockey team fell 4-1 against Franklin and Marshall College Tuesday, October 25. The loss places the Bullets just outside of playoff range, as they now sit sixth in the Centennial Conference.
The first half of the game was marked with much back-and-forth effort. The ball spent much time on both ends of the field with many shots on net from both sides.
The Diplomats were aggressive from the start, firing three shots on net within the first two-and-a-half minutes of play. Junior goalie Haley Mowery was able to stop all but one. This goal would be the first for the hat trick completed by Diplomat first-year Erin Coverdale.
The Bullets shot at Diplomat goalie, sophomore Ilianna Santangelo four times within four minutes, but she deflected each attempt. Santangelo ranks second in the conference for her goals-against average of 0.86. Mowery ranks ninth at 2.62.
Coverdale then took advantage of a defender’s stick to earn her second goal in the sixteenth minute of play.
Shortly thereafter, after many deflections made by Mowery, senior defender Nina Diamond and sophomore defender Brooke Matthews, Coverdale tapped the ball in for her third goal during the remaining 90 seconds of the half.
Diamond ranks second in the conference for defensive saves on the season, totaling seven so far. Matthews ties for the eighth spot alongside Muhlenberg’s Claudia Theriault with three, respectively.
After the first 35 minutes, the Diplomats led the Bullets in shots 11-9 and penalty corners 5-4. The scoreboard would remain 3-0 for the first three-quarters of play.
F&M continued to be strong on the offensive during the second half. In the 48th minute, senior Melanie Consiglio acted on a rebound and earned the fourth and final point of the game for F&M.
Junior Casey Eck scored what would be the only point for Gettysburg Tuesday. Accepting a pass from senior Kit Towers in the 55th minute, Eck shot to the far goal post for her third goal of the season.
“The game yesterday was tough but we learned a lot as a team,” said junior forward Lindsay Kraus. “We scored and worked together in the second half which was exciting.”
The end of the second half showed the Diplomats leading 19-13 for shots and 7-5 for penalty corners.
Mowery picked up eight saves for the game. The goalkeeper holds over 300 saves in her career and is only the eighth Bullet in history to hold such a title. The junior has 76 saves on the season thus far, which is good for fourth in the conference stat holders. Santangelo ranks eighth with 53.
Franklin and Marshall now sits second in the conference with an 8-1 conference record, 12-3 overall. Gettysburg holds a record of 4-5 in the conference and 6-8 overall. The Bullets stand only half a point away from fifth place Haverford.
In order to earn a playoff position, the Bullets need to win their final game of the regular season. Not only will this game come with excitement of motivation for success, but it will also be the last home game of the season for the Bullets and will include special recognition for the seven players that will graduate in the spring.
These players are captains Nina Diamond, Samantha Wright and Kathryn Hardman, along with two of the team’s top scorers, forward Hannah Fitzgerald and midfielder/forward Tori Sankey.
“We have our senior game Friday which is always a blast so we can’t wait for that!” said Kraus. “The game against Hopkins is always a good one.”
