HUNTINGDON, Pa. – The Allegheny field hockey team traveled to Juniata for their first road contest of the season, falling to the Eagles 5-4 in a back-and-forth battle.
The Eagles took advantage of an early corner attempt as they gained a 1-0 lead.
Caroline Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo./Liberty) and
Teagan Ressler (Glenwood, N.J./Vernon Township) had shots on goal in the frame that were stopped. In the closing seconds of the first, the Eagles tallied a second goal off a penalty corner to take a 2-0 lead into the second.
The Gators made up a goal early in the second as
Anna Merlack (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine Richland) found the back of the net for an unassisted strike. However, the Eagles would score their third goal of the half minutes later as they led 3-1 at halftime.
Similar to the second quarter, the Gators scored in the opening minutes of the third. Shortly after earning a penalty corner,
Rhyan Rish (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Jerome) scored her first career goal, tying the game at two. About 10 minutes later, the Gators tied the game at three apiece as Smith set up Ressler for the equalizer. The Eagles were quick to respond, scoring a late goal to take a 4-3 lead into the fourth.
The back-and-forth continued into the fourth quarter as Ressler, assisted by Smith for the second time, struck the back of the net, tying the game at four. Once again, however, Juniata had a quick response to regain the lead, 5-4.
Allegheny pressured the Juniata defense late in the game, but were unable to break through as they fell in the back-and-forth contest.
Inside the Box
- Ressler scored a pair of goals in the second half.
- Rish scored the Gators second goal of the game.
- Merlack scored a goal and made a defensive save.
- Smith had a pair of assists.
- Josie Smith (Abingdon, Md./Patterson Mill) made seven saves in net.
News and Notes
- Allegheny is now 2-3 all-time against Juniata.
- Rish scored her first career goal.
- Merlack scored her third goal of the season.
- Resler scored her second and third goals of the year.
- Smith tallied two assists for the second time in her career, both times against Juniata.
Up Next
The Gators will face Brockport in a neutral site game at Juniata Saturday (Sept. 5) at 3pm.
