GAMBIER, Ohio – The Concordia Wisconsin field hockey team battled until the final whistle on Saturday afternoon, but Kenyon was able to slip past the Falcons, 2-1.
The Falcons (1-1) controlled much of the offensive pressure, finishing with a commanding 20-9 advantage in shots and an 11-6 edge in shots on goal. CUW also generated eight penalty corners while holding Kenyon to four.
Concordia Wisconsin wasted little time getting on the scoreboard.
In the seventh minute, senior Emily Robertson (Canton, Mich.) worked the ball forward to junior Hannah Lawson (St. Louis, Mo.). Lawson received the pass and found senior Paige Armijo (Reseda, Calif.) stationed directly in front of the cage. Armijo finished the opportunity to give the Falcons a 1-0 advantage at the 6:51 mark.
The Falcons continued to apply pressure throughout the opening quarter. Senior Leah Mouganis (Pittsburg, Pa.) helped generate four penalty-corner opportunities in the frame, while freshman Maddie Rock (Rockford, Mich.) and freshman Aly Schuster (Colgate, Wis.) each challenged the Kenyon defense.
CUW closed the first quarter with a 7-0 advantage in shots and carried the 1-0 lead into the second.
Kenyon found its equalizer just 1:25 into the second quarter when Hendrika Maher scored to even the contest at 1-1.
The Falcons continued to attack despite the equalizer and produced five shots in the second quarter. Armijo nearly put CUW back in front in the 24th minute, forcing a save before earning a penalty stroke. Her attempt on the stroke went wide, keeping the contest tied heading into halftime.
After Concordia controlled the opening half with a 12-1 advantage in shots, Kenyon generated its strongest offensive push in the third quarter. Junior Carlijn van der Bend (Voorburg, Netherlands) stood tall in the cage, making a pair of saves to keep the game deadlocked at 1-1 through 45 minutes.
The Falcons came out firing again in the fourth quarter.
Schuster put back-to-back attempts on goal in the opening minutes of the period, but both were turned away. CUW continued to pressure the Kenyon cage before the Owls broke through on the other end.
Kenyon took its first lead of the afternoon at the 53:26 mark when Rigby Zentner scored off a penalty corner to make it 2-1.
The Falcons refused to go quietly.
Robertson put a shot on goal with less than five minutes remaining, while Rock added another quality opportunity in the closing minutes. Kenyon goalkeeper Sofia Chaves turned both chances aside to preserve the one-goal advantage.
CUW finished the fourth quarter with a 7-3 advantage in shots and put four attempts on goal as it searched for the equalizer.
Schuster led the Falcons with four shots, putting all four on goal. Rock also finished with four attempts and three shots on goal, while Armijo recorded three shots with two on frame and the Falcons' lone goal. Freshman Emilia Rojas (Santiago, Chile) added three shots.
Van der Bend finished with four saves in the cage.
Despite the result, Concordia Wisconsin finished with advantages of 20-9 in shots, 11-6 in shots on goal and 8-4 in penalty corners.
The Falcons look to bounce back on Monday when they face Saint Francis, that transitioned from NCAA Division I this summer.
