By Eric Weiss

Senior Writer

The field hockey team had a rocky opening weekend, falling  to Temple and Saint Joseph’s by scores of 4-2 and 7-3, respectively. Although both games were competitive, the Orange and Blue were unable to overcome their opponents in either contest at the Temple Invitational.

In their first game of the season, the Bison struck first as Taylor Siegrist ’13 netted a goal just 7:12 into the game. The Owls clawed back, registering the next 11 shots on goal. Temple did not allow the Bison another goal in the first half and closed with a 3-1 advantage.

Christine Weiss ’11 brought the Orange and Blue back within one when she scored off a penalty corner early in the second half. The Bison continued to battle but Temple put the game away at the 49:55 mark with an insurance goal.

“We showed that we are capable of playing great hockey but we need to be able to play with the same level of intensity and composure for an entire 70 minutes,” Kelly Bruvik ’11 said.

In their second game of the weekend the Bison showed their grit as they battled back from two goals down against St. Joseph’s. Weiss and Bruvik both scored to knot the score up at 2-2.

St. Joseph’s put the game away, though, closing the door on the Bison by rattling off two more goals quickly just as the Bison were hitting their stride.

Against St. Joseph’s the Bison had a 14-3 penalty corner advantage, allowing them to total 22 for the weekend while their opponents only managed seven.

“We have a very deep bench this year with eight [first-years] total and 12 others looking to make an impact. We hope to use these numbers to our advantage as the season progresses,” Morgan Kauffman ’11 said.

The Orange and Blue take on Albany in their home opener at 1 p.m. on Saturday.