Box Score
SCRANTON, Pa. – Senior Gracie McClatchy (Havertown, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) scored a pair of goals in the first half and The University of Scranton field hockey team (7-4, 2-0 Landmark) held off a late Goucher rally in a 2-1 win over the Gophers (6-5, 1-1 Landmark) on Saturday afternoon at Weiss Field in Scranton.
The multi-goal game is the seventh of McClatchy's career and she leads the team with six goals on the season.
Scranton came out firing in this one and had a couple of scoring chances in the early stages of the game before breaking through with 5:23 left in the first quarter as McClatchy collected a loose ball in front and was able to slide a shot past Goucher goalie Devin Brashear. The Havertown, Pa., native struck again just under three minutes later as she took a feed from junior Sheila Newby (Media, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) and beat Brashear to make it a 2-0 game in favor of the Royals. Scranton held a 9-1 shot advantage in the first half and nearly extended the lead in the second quarter, but Brashear made four saves in the period.
After a flurry of chances by the Royals to start the third quarter, the Gophers responded with offensive pressure of their own, but senior goalie Claire McAllister (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) made a couple of key saves including turning away consecutive shots from Alexyss Pawlak. Senior Lauren Earnshaw (Audubon, Pa./Methacton) added her Landmark Conference leading sixth defensive save of the season on a shot from Goucher's Ari Hooper. The Gophers cut the lead in half with a penalty stroke goal from Mia Wiggins with 1:36 to play in the third quarter. However, a strong defensive effort from the Royals led by Earnshaw, junior Christina Motz (Glenside, Pa./Gwynedd-Mercy Academy) and senior Caroline Mullen (Chester Springs, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) would limit Goucher to just one shot over the final 15 plus minutes of the game.
The Royals held a 17-7 shot advantage in the contest led by five shots from McClatchy and four from sophomore Allie Benadon (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough). McAllister made four saves to register the win for Scranton, while Brashear tallied 11 saves for Goucher.
Scranton hits the road to battle William Paterson in a non-conference matchup on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. Landmark Conference play resumes on Saturday, Oct. 12 with a 1 p.m. contest at Moravian.
--ROYALS--
