MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Roger Williams University field hockey team was the first to strike Thursday evening at Wesleyan, but were unable to overcome a second half surge by the Cardinals, who came out on top, 3-2.
The Hawks out shot Wesleyan 12-9, with eight of their shots being placed inside the frame of the cage. The Cardinals held the edge in penalty corner attempts with eight attempts to Roger Williams' five.
Hannah Brazil (East Sandwich, Mass.) made a pair of saves in the contest, while
Chelsea King (Schenectady, N.Y.) tallied one goal in the contest, with
Hannah Timbrouck Kingston, N.Y.) accounting for the other.
Kelly Doherty (Mansfield, Mass.) added a helper on a goal.
The Hawks opened up scoring in the second quarter of action, with Doherty putting a ball to Timbrouck who scored with 4:11 remaining in the opening half.
The Cardinals were able to see a few shots go into the back of the cage with the Cardinals Annabel Cincotta and Georgia Adams, scoring 2:42 apart to take the lead for the unbeaten Cardinals.
In the fourth quarter, the Hawks dominated play, with six shots being fired, three of which were saved by Cardinal goalie Audrey Pace, and one being stopped on a defensive save. The Hawks did finally put a shot past the Cardinal defense with King scoring her sixth goal of the season with 4:16 remaining in the matchup.
With 2:02 remaining in regulation, the Cardinals secured the victory after a penalty corner was put into the contest by Ava Galdenzi, that Kenzie Kelly redirected for Kenzie Mauro for the game winner.
"It was aa hard fought, faced paced battle," said Head Coach
Jill Reeve. "I am very proud of the way we played tonight. I think the team found their style of play and we can build on this."
Roger Williams (3-2, 0-0 CCC) will host Manhattanville on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 1:00 pm on Bayside Field. The Hawks will then visit former Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) foe Salve Regina on Tuesday, Sept. 19 at 6:30 pm in Newport, before opening CCC play at Endicott on Saturday, Sept. 23.
