Emily Evancho

Assistant Sports Editor 

The women’s field hockey team breezed past Lehigh in its Patriot League opener with a 4-1 home win over the Mountain Hawks on Sept. 21. The match on Sept. 22 proved to be more of a test, leaving the Bison eager to bounce back from their 4-3 loss against the No. 16 Delaware Blue Hens.

The Orange and Blue dominated the field in their match against Lehigh, refusing to relinquish control of the scoreboard for the last hour of the game. Kiersten Sydnor ’16 began the Bison’s lead swiftly with a quick strike into the goal only 9:51 into the game.

Amie Pritchard ’15 gave a strong performance on the right offensive side. Pritchard set up the second goal for the Orange and Blue by intercepting Lehigh’s pass attempt and then passing to teammate Rachel Misko ’14 for the goal. Not soon after the second goal, Abby Watson ’16 was able to get Leigh Hillman ’14 the opening for a third tally, bringing the score to 3-1 by the end of the first half. Lehigh succeeded with one goal but the triumph was short lived when Sydnor scored the Bison’s fourth goal of the game, sealing the win.

 The game against Delaware shaped up to be more of a real challenge. Hillman padded the scoreboard with a goal for the Bison in the first half after catching a rebound from Delaware, bringing the score to 2-1 nearing the end of the first half. But Delaware changed the situation in the final moments by adding a goal with 2:17 left in the half, making the score 3-1 heading into halftime.

The second half of the match was the true battle of the game, during which Cassie Lawrence ’15 scored the first goal of her career midway through the second half, pulling the Orange and Blue to a better stand at 4-2. With two penalty corners in the final minutes of the game, it was a hectic ending to a valiant struggle. As the clock ran down to 0:00, Delaware caused another penalty corner which Vickie Resh ’14 took advantage of by passing to teammate Liz Wills ’15, who dished an assist to Watson for the final goal of the game for the Orange and Blue, leaving the score at a dignified end.

The herd will return to its home field tomorrow at noon to compete against Colgate.