WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley College field hockey team carried the momentum for much of Saturday's MAC Freedom regular-season finale, but host King's College used a late third-quarter goal to edge the Flying Dutchmen, 3-2, at McCarthy Stadium.
LVC finished with a 17-11 advantage in shots and generated 10 penalty corners while receiving goals from
Jillian Tait and
Claire Weidenhammer.
The Dutchmen came out on the attack early, creating several scoring opportunities in the opening quarter.
Claire Weidenhammer fired three shots in the first nine minutes, but King's goalkeeper Tierney Hogan kept the game scoreless. The Monarchs capitalized late in the period when Megan Harry found the back of the cage to give the home team a 1-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
Lebanon Valley responded with an impressive offensive surge in the second. After earning three consecutive penalty corners,
Abby Rodenberger delivered a pass to Tait, who buried her 10th goal of the season to even the score at 1-1 with 10:24 remaining in the half. The Dutchmen kept the pressure on and grabbed the lead just over a minute later.
Claire Weidenhammer scored her team-leading 19th goal of the season after a sustained attacking sequence, putting LVC in front 2-1. King's answered midway through the quarter as Davina Krappa converted following a penalty corner to level the score at 2-2. Lebanon Valley continued to create chances before halftime, including multiple shots from Tait, but the match remained tied entering the break.
The Flying Dutchmen controlled much of the third quarter offensively, outshooting the Monarchs and peppering the cage with opportunities from Weidenhammer, Tait, and Rodenberger. Hogan made several key saves to keep the score even before King's broke through on Gwen Erb's goal with 1:37 left in the period for what proved to be the game-winner.
LVC continued to battle in the fourth quarter, while
Ella Weidenhammer came up with a string of clutch saves to keep the Dutchmen within one. The senior goalkeeper stopped six shots during a busy stretch early in the final frame, giving Lebanon Valley opportunities to find a late equalizer. The Dutchmen generated chances down the stretch but were unable to force overtime.
Inside the Box
- Claire Weidenhammer scored her team-leading 19th goal of the season and paced the Dutchmen attack with six shots.
- Tait recorded her 10th goal of the season, finishing off a penalty corner sequence in the second quarter. She matched Weidenhammer for the team lead with six shots.
- Rodenberger tallied an assist on Tait's goal and finished with four shots.
- Ella Weidenhammer made nine saves, including a string of key stops early in the fourth quarter that kept the Dutchmen within striking distance and gave LVC a chance at a late equalizer.
- Danica Zurenko came up with a defensive save in the second quarter, preserving the score during a dangerous King's scoring opportunity.
Up Next
The third-seeded Dutchmen will have a rematch with the second-seeded DeSales University Bulldogs on Wednesday, November 4, in the MAC Freedom Semifinals. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Center Valley.
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