The Bison field hockey team competed in two difficult games this past weekend against Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and Richmond. With both games played on the road, the Bison finished the weekend 1-1, improving their overall record to 2-2.

In their first game of the weekend on Sept. 7, the Orange and Blue fought hard for a 2-1 victory over VCU. Brittany Willwerth ’20 opened the scoring halfway through the first period off a penalty corner, with the assist coming from Kaelyn Long ’21.

Goalkeeper Olivia Harris ’20 came up with numerous significant saves to hold the Bison’s lead up until the final period, at which point Willwerth slotted home her second goal of the day. VCU responded quickly with a goal of their own. However, the Bison defense was able to hold off their attack for the rest of the game and secure the victory.

Harris finished the game with eight saves, and the Orange and Blue recorded 12 shots on the day.

In a hard-fought overtime match on Sept. 8, the Bison fell 3-2 to the Richmond Spiders. Maddie Rehak ’23 scored her first collegiate goal in the third quarter to tie the game 1-1. The Bison then took the lead early in the fourth quarter, as Leah Fogelsanger ’21 scored off of a penalty corner.

The Orange and Blue were unable to hold the lead, however, as Richmond scored late in the fourth quarter, sending the game into overtime. Only two minutes into sudden-death overtime, the Spiders slipped a shot behind Harris, finding the golden goal.

“We knew going in that Richmond was a tough team and that we would have to work hard. Though we lost we pushed the precious boundaries that had been set and we learned a lot from it,” defender Erin Zielinski ’22 said. “Richmond was a great team to play and we are excited to take what we learned and become better from it.”

The Orange and Blue face Syracuse at home on Sept. 15, their last game before Patriot League play begins.

“This past weekend was a major learning experience for our team as a whole. We faced tough opponents where every single one of us were pushed to new limits. Despite the unfortunate loss to Richmond, we look forward to improving upon our game and gearing up for a big game against Syracuse on Friday,” Fogelsanger said.